


Blindtale

by bogy345



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Adventure, Alternate Universe, Blindtale, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-18
Updated: 2017-01-18
Packaged: 2018-09-18 07:14:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 45,308
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9373907
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bogy345/pseuds/bogy345
Summary: With only four senses, Touch, Taste, Smell, and Hearing, Frisk must make it out of the underground without the most crucial sense for her survival, Sight. Blind!Frisk AU.





	1. Prologue

           Tears flooded the rim of the young child's silvery-brown eyes and threatened to spill over. Gentle hands pressed a cloth to her small leg, the liquid that dampened the cloth made the injury on the girl's leg burn. The women who treated to her hummed softly, but the song only made her want to cry. It was meant to sooth but it only made the child feel like a helpless baby when in reality she was in fact a helpless baby. "Alright... the worst is over, Frisk." The cloth was removed from her leg and the burning sensation began to fade but the humming remained. The chair squeaked as the nurse got up and opened a cabinet. "Alright an Elmo bandage or a -" the nurse cut herself off, realizing her mistake too late. Frisk shrugged off the mistake and the nurse returned with another chair squeak. After the nurse applied the bandage on Frisk's leg she asked "Frisk… do you… perhaps know who injured you?" Frisk shook her head, in the process tears spilled over. "Do you want to talk about it." She shook her head again. "A- alright. Let me walk you back to your room then." Frisk would have vetoed the offer, if she had a choice, but the nurse would have vetoed her veto. So Frisk was forced to hold the nurse's hand with her left, and her smooth cane in the right, as they walked back to her room.

            It wasn't near dark yet, Frisk assumed, since she heard kids shrieking and playing in the courtyard. She wanted to join them, go back outside and enjoy the sunlight on her face but she didn't want to run into those boys again. They had stolen her cane, taunted for being weak, and pushed her to the ground when she got close to them. They then threw the cane at her before running off with loud thumping steps. A few moments later a caretaker arrived asking who had attacked her, since the caretaker couldn't identify them from far off. However, Frisk wasn't able to give the caretaker an answer since she was not able to guarantee exactly who the boys were. Besides, even if she did tell on the boys, they would probably beat her up after they got punished or perhaps they would play dumb and never get punished. It was better this way, avoiding more abuse. They were about to climb up the stairs when a boy's voice rang loudly, "Frisk! You're not going back to your room already, are you? You promised to play with me!" Frisk cringed when she recognized the voice of this particular boy, John. What made it worse was that it was true, she _had_ made a promise to John to teach him how to walk with a cane today. The nurse spoke up cheerfully, "Ah Frisk, are you sure you don't want to be with your friend?" Frisk frowned, she didn't want to go back outside to meet those boys again, but guilt started to creep in her conscience when John executed a long, " _Please_ _you promised~_ " She didn't have a choice did she. She smiled widely at John's silliness and removed her hand from the nurse's. "Yes!" John exclaimed in success as he grabbed her free hand and ran with her outside. The nurse laughed and told them to be careful, which was hard to do when she ran blind.

            After a few minutes of running with the occasional stumble, John slowed a bit before coming to a complete stop. "This is the perfect obstacle course for the lesson!" He beamed. Frisk smiled and walked around the area while swished her cane back and forth in an ark. She walked a few feet forward before tapping something. It was hard, not soft like a person, so she walked towards the object and put her palm upon it. The texture was rough and bumpy, and when she knocked on it, it made a **clunk** noise. It was most likely a tree. "A tree." She responded and John chirped "Yep, now go that way!" He walked up to her and turned her in a direction. When he let go, she began to walk before she hit something with her cane. It bounced off with a **twang** and she instantly knew what it was. "The fence." She answered. She knew that the sound could only come from metal, and the only metal object in the courtyard was the fence that blocked in the orphanage. "Wow, you were able to guess that with only one tap! Can I try?" Frisk nodded and turned around to face John's voice, holding out her cane for him. "Alright, I might not be as good as you but I'll... uh... do my best." Frisk smiled as he took the cane, and soon she heard rustling grass which indicated that John had begun walking. After a few moments she called out, "No peeking."

            "Woah, Frisk how did you know?"

            "You haven't fallen yet." Frisk teased slyly, which earned her a raspberry allegedly blown by John. John was doing very well after a few tries but got stuck on a few objects such as a hose or a bike rack. John was currently tapping her cane on an object when a familiar voice called out, "Hey, dolt are you trying to imitate that blind monkey over there?" Frisk's cheeks burned with indignation as she realized that they referred to her. "Well, monkey see monkey do." Teased another boy, this comment earned a laugh from the group, and Frisk realized that their must be more than five boys harassing them... where were the caretakers? Had her and John really walked that far from their attentive gaze? "S- sh- She's not a monkey, y-you know... you are!" John rebutted weakly. A heavy stone of dread settled in Frisk's stomach. That comment, while brave that he was defending her, was going to get him hurt. The group shuffled closer, "Oh yeah? Would a monkey be able to do this?"

            "Let g- ow! Stop!" John began shrieking, however it was presumably muffled by the older boy. Frisk couldn't tell what the boy was doing to John but he was obviously hurting him. It made Frisk's blood boil and while she didn't care if they bullied her, John was her friend and she wasn't to stand around and listen to his pained cries without doing... something. She yelled at the boy to stop which earned her a kick in the stomach. She landed on the ground holding her abdomen while the other boys cackled. "What are you going to do, weakling, if you can't even take a single blow." Frisk shot them a deadly glare, "I'm not weak!" The boy laughed, however instead of another painful punishment for talking back, the older boy and his groupies began to whisper. After a few moments, which John was now sobbing, the older boy spoke again "How about you prove it. My buddies and I are climbing Mount Ebott tonight, and well… i'm sure you heard the rumor…" Frisk nodded, narrowing her eyes in mistrust. "Come with us and I promise I won't bother you or your little monkey-in-training, again." Frisk bit her lip, unable to make a choice. Mount Ebott wasn't a huge mountain, in fact, it was slightly larger than a hill, so she was told, but going to the summit was suicide. She heard stories of people disappearing from Mount Ebott and she didn't want to discover if these rumors were true. The boy must have noticed her hesitation and added, "If you don't, then perhaps your friend will be going to the nurse with a little more than a bruise."

            For the third time today, Frisk seemed to be left with no choice, she didn't want to hear her friend whimpering anymore. With a nod, John's whimpering stopped, replaced by rapid thumping. "Seems your 'loyal friend' ran away." Frisk frowned feeling slightly betrayed but more worried that he had taken her cane with him. "Meet us in the courtyard tonight at ten thirty. Here you might need this." Frisk felt a tap on her head and reached up to grasp her cane. "Don't be late and if you tell anyone about this then consider you and your friend done for."

            After her second confrontation with the boys, Frisk immediately when back inside the orphanage and began climbing up the steps to John's room. She had no idea how she was going to tell when it was ten thirty, since she couldn't read clocks and didn't have an alarm. Besides, the alarm would probably wake the five other kids inside her room. She would need John's help to get outside in time and without making a noise. When Frisk climbed the second flight, she walked down the hallway, feeling the brail that marked which room was which. Forty-one, Forty-two, Forty-three. She felt the last tag again to confirm. Yes, Forty-three, John's room number. "Hello? John are you in here?" She asked as she opened the door. "Nope just me, Frisk." Frisk deflated slightly upon hearing this voice, it wasn't John but Edwardo.

            "Do you know where he is?" She asked hopefully.

            "Well, he went to the courtyard this morning but I haven't heard of him since. Why do you need him?" He questioned her.

            "No reason." She sighed and left the room. When she made it to her room, she opened the door and was instantly greeted by a voice. "Frisk, you're ok! I'm so sorry for leaving you I just wa- was just really-"

            "It's fine." Frisk responded, hiding the bitterness she felt from his abandonment.

            "Oh alright…" There was a long awkward pause before he spoke softly.

            "You not actually going to climb Mt. Ebott, right?" Another long awkward pause ensued, this time Frisk broke the silence.

            "Yes, I need-"

            "What! Don't you know what happens when you climb that mountain?" John interrupted

            "No one ever comes back, Frisk! If you climb that mountain you'll-"

            "Shhh." Frisk intervened, putting a finger to her mouth to signal, 'quiet'. She didn't want anyone passing by to hear their conversation. John immediately stopped talking and Frisk took advantage of this.

            "I know the legend, John, but if I do this those boys won't ever bother you or me again."

            "How do you know that, Frisk?" John whispered, doubtfully.

            "I don't, but I do know is that if I tell on them or don't go, they will beat us up again... maybe worse." John didn't respond with a reproach so Frisk continued.

            "I need your help, I need you to come in my room and tell me when it's ten-thirty so I can meet the boys. I promise I'll be fine." Frisk didn't need eyes to know that John was frowning and very upset.

            "Fine."

            After John's agreement he left the room without another word and Frisk decided it was best she slept now so that way she wouldn't be exhausted when she went to Mt. Ebott. Despite the rumor and despite her mistrust of the boys, she was nervously excited. If she came back from Ebott she would prove to everyone that she wasn't a weak child they a thought she was. She was strong and determined.

            It took a while for her to fall asleep, since she wasn't very tired, but eventually a dreamless slumber took hold of her. It felt as though she was asleep for seconds when she was woken again by a whispering frantic boy. "Frisk… Frisk wake up!" Frisk blinked and sat up in her bed, rubbing her eyes. "It's almost ten-thirty! Come on!" This comment immediately woke her up and she quickly got to her feet, grabbing her cane. John and her, hand in hand, tiptoed quietly past the other sleeping bodies and successfully made it to the hallway. They didn't close the door behind them, in fear that they might make too much noise. They quickly treaded down the stairs to the main lobby. They were so close!

            "What are you two doing up?" Frisk and John both froze at the voice of one of the caretakers, a sense of dread filled Frisk knowing that she had failed.

            "Frisk needed to go to the bathroom! S- she's blind so she asked me for help."

            "Oh alright, hurry up then... and then go back to bed." Frisk heard high heel footsteps slowly fade away upstairs. Frisk felt her heart beating a hundred miles per hour.

            "W- wow I can't believe that actually worked." Frisk whispered, slightly out of breath from the near failure of their mission. John didn't respond and instead his hand tightened around Frisk's.

            "Uh, thanks for your help but I need to go now." She tried to tug her hand away but John held it too tightly.

            "Frisk. Please don't go, I- I don't want you to disappear. " Frisk knitted her eyebrows together in concern when he let out a small sob. She pulled her friend into a hug to which he quickly returned the embrace.

            "I- I won't disappear. I promise, but… John. I _want_ to go. I'm blind and I probably won't ever have this opportunity for an adventure again." John sighed and broke the hug.

            "Then you need to hurry. Here take this, m- maybe it might help." He took her free hand and put a rough material in it. It felt like a roll of duct tape and she looked at it baffled.

            "It's a bandage, for if you get hurt. Now go, it might be past ten-thirty!" With that he pushed her out the door and into the courtyard. Frisk gulped slightly but took her cane and began to walk.

            After a few minutes of worrying that they might have already left, she heard the older boy's voice. "There you are. You have some guts for a monkey, we didn't think you would have actually come." Frisk felt a heavy hand on her shoulder along with a laugh. "Seeing as you got this far you might as well know our names, I'm Mark, and my two other buddies coming with us are, Juan and Pierre." The two boys responded with a 'Hey', however Frisk couldn't tell them apart since their voices were too similar. "Basically make sure to keep up and you'll do _just_ fine. Now, let's go."

            They had already begun walking and Frisk had already found this to be difficult. They didn't warn her about holes or anything that she might run into, which made her fall behind a few times. Finally they reached the fence that blocked out the courtyard from the rest of the world, she heard two of them climbing and began to feel nervous. "Hey, you ok there? You look pale." She jumped, not noticing one of the boys right next to her. It wasn't Mark, she knew that for sure, he had a much deeper voice, so it was either Juan or Pierre. "The fence isn't that tall, nor is it barbed, you'll be fine. If it helps, me or Juan, who's on the other side, will catch you if you fall." Frisk gulped again. She didn't trust this boy at all to catch her but if she didn't climb the fence she would have to turn around and go back. With a nod, handing him her cane and bandage, she walked towards the fence and began to climb, making sure to lodge her foot in each hole so she didn't slip. Her sweaty hands began to hurt by the time she made it to the top and when she flipped herself around to climb down she lost her footing and was left hanging. She desperately attempted to dig her foot into a hole but her sweat slick hands slipped and she fell backwards with a scream. Unexpectedly she didn't feel pain and moved her hands to feel what she had fallen on. It was soft and furry and definitely a boy. "That was a bit of a fail, but nice try." Juan spoke, plopping her down on her feet. "I would have expected a monkey to have been able to climb at least." Mark agreed. Frisk felt her cheeks warm up in embarrassment and slight agitation but begrudgingly thanked Juan for catching her. "Don't mention it, literally, if it wasn't for my brother making me promise to catch you I wouldn't have caught you." Frisk shrugged, all that mattered was that she didn't break her back.

            After Pierre expertly climbed the fence, and gave her back her stuff, they began walking down the sidewalk in silence. Frisk tried the best she could to keep up but she wasn't familiar with walking on the street and kept bumping into stuff. Luckily Pierre stayed close to her and helped her if she fell behind. After a few times of falling behind Frisk asked why he was helping her. He paused and answered that Frisk reminded him of his friend when she was around. Pierre's friend was deaf and mute and often needed his help for many tasks. He also remarked that his brother Juan isn't as cold as he makes himself out to be.

            "He just wants to impress Mark, I honestly can't stand him sometimes."

            "Why do you follow him around then?" Frisk inquired, her stick tapped something metal and she quickly moved out of the way of the object.

            "Well someone has to protect him right?" Frisk nodded, understanding. That was why Frisk was here after all, to protect John.

            After what felt like an eternity of walking, they reached Mt. Ebott and found a roughly made path up the mountain. Mark pointed out a sign which read 'Danger! Do not hike on this mountain.' and commented on why there was a path if no one could walk on it. The other boys laughed and joked about how the mountain would 'swallow' them but Frisk couldn't help but feel a sense of foreboding, not to mention she kept tripping over everything.

            "Well if the mountain eats anyone it's going to be that blind runt over there. If you don't mind we want to get to the summit _before_ sunrise, alright?" Juan chastised. Frisk glared at his voice and tried to move quicker, however a second later, bumped her head into a tree. Mark and Juan laughed while Pierre asked yet again, if she was alright. She nodded, annoyed with her disability. Eventually in order to keep up, Pierre had to become her eyes which only make Mark and Juan tease her about being helpless. Pierre never abandoned her despite the teasing, but he didn't defend her either, which angered Frisk. As they neared the top, foliage was replaced with hard rock and Frisk was beginning to feel exhaustion in every fiber of her being and began to wonder if anyone had noticed their absence yet. The air was still cool and crisp so Frisk assumed it was still night. Suddenly she began to hear a **cracking** sound, one that reminded her of cracking ice.

            "Pierre, is the ground cracking?" She whispered quietly.

            "What? N- Oh my god, Juan run!" Pierre disappeared from her side in a flash, leaving Frisk to panic.

            She heard thumping noises but when she attempted to run after them, the ground opened up beneath her. She flailed her arms and managed to grab hold of something. Her cane and her bandage fell down into the abyss beneath her. She called out for the boys, any of them, but _no one came_. Her adrenaline and grip faltered and she was swallowed by the mountain.


	2. Toriel, Puzzles, and Flowers

It felt like Frisk was falling forever, like Alice in Wonderland but with Frisk she was screaming bloody murder. She didn't want to die this way, she should have never came to Ebott and now she was going hit the ground without ever knowing when.

            "No!" She felt herself scream. Despite knowing her fate she couldn't die now, she made a promise to John that she wouldn't die. It was probably a foolish thing to believe but she held on to her determination.

            "I won't die here!" She shouted into nothingness. In an instant she met hard ground and felt everything break.

            **Saving . . .**

            **Game over.**

            **Loading . . .**

            Frisks eyes blinked open to meet her usual blindness. _Did I die?_ She wondered. Her body didn't ache like she had just fallen miles underground and she could still feel her hands and feet. Speaking of hands… she quickly sat up and ran her hand over what she had just fallen on. Were these… flowers? She had expected to meet lava or at least stone but this texture was soft and feathery, like flowers. _Where is my cane?_ Was her next thought and she began to rummage on her knees through the flowers. She felt something round and pulled up the object. It was her bandage roll.

            "Howdy! I'm Flowey. Flowey the Flower!" The sudden voice startled Frisk who let out a scream of terror. She thought she was alone but this voice sounded dangerously close. A short pause ensued.

            "You're new to the UNDERGROUND, aren'tcha?

            Wait a second did this voice just say that he was a flower? Frisk looked at the voice baffled. He definitely sounded very short but a talking flower? Maybe she really had died. The flower seemed to notice her confusion and continued.

            "Golly, you look so confused. Someone ought to teach you how things work around here! I guess little old me will have to do." Frisk raised an eyebrow. This flower was incredibly friendly, _too_ friendly. She could hear the stress the flower put in his voice, like it wasn't truly real.

            "Ready? Here we go!" _Wait what?_ Suddenly her heart began to beat quicker and her whole soul felt like it was being crushed. _A- Ah! What is he doing?!_ She gasped and clutched her chest only to find something smooth and pulsating. The soul-sucking feeling seemed to ebb and she frantically felt the object glued over her heart. It was soft but strong, pulsating every few seconds, and was shaped like a valentine's heart.

            "See that heart?" Flowery spoke again in his, far too ardor voice after what just happened. "That is your Soul, the very culmination of your being!" If Frisk was confused before, she was completely stupefied now. How was a flower talking to her? Why was her soul in the shape of a heart? And why does this flower still sound cheerful after seeing her squirm in pain? She felt like asking Flowery all these questions but shock glued her lips together.

            "Your Soul starts off fragile, but can grow strong if you gain a lot of LV. What's LV stand for?" He asked, pretending to predict one of her questions.

            "Why, _Love_ ,of course!" Frisk raised an eyebrow, she didn't believe that for one second, even with a pulsating heart attached to her chest and a supposedly cheerful talking flower.

            "You want some Love, don't you? Don't worry, I'll share some with you!" Frisk felt her 'heart' glow with distrust but she couldn't help but feel a mix of curiosity.

            "Down here, Love is shared through…" A long pause replaced Frisk's curiosity with suspicion.

            "Little white…" Another pause.

            " _Friendliness pellets._ Are you ready?" Nope.

            "Get as many as you can!" Suddenly she heard a whizzing sound barely miss her ear, causing her to flinch out of the way of the 'Friendliness pellets.'

            "Hey buddy, you missed them." Flowery spoke up, however now his voice was darker and agitated which frightened Frisk.

            "Let's try again, okay?" Frisk nodded fearfully, not liking where this was going. Again she heard the whizzing sound pass her ear but instead of flinching, it felt like her heart was tugging at her, telling her to step to the side. She obeyed this… thing, and heard the rest of the pellets whiz past.

            "Is this a joke? Are you braindead? RUN. INTO. THE, BULLETS!" Flowery yelled, then noticing his mistake he added, "I- I mean Friendliness Pellets!"

            Frisk jumped at his sudden demonic change in voice. So they were bullets… meant to kill… not… Friendliness pellets.

            _Nope._

            " _What_? Get back here you… **_idiot_**!," Frisk had dropped her bandage and took off running from the flower patch. She was abandoning her cane as well but she didn't care. That _thing_ was trying to kill her. Another sudden impulse flooded her heart but she dodged too late and felt a pellet hit her arm. It sent a painful paralyzing sensation throughout her body and she crumpled on the stone ground, holding her arm. The demonic voice appeared in front of her and sounded like Flowey's, but losing all of its fake sweetness.

            "You _know_ what's going on here, _don't you_?" Frisk couldn't respond, terror and pain overridden her desire to talk to this demon flower. Tears leaked through her shut eyelids and fell on the cold stone floor.

            "You just wanted to see me **suffer**." It took all of Frisk's determination to shake her head. The flower's accusation was completely false but she couldn't muster enough strength to talk her way out of this mess. She heard pellets form around her, and to confirm her helplessness, her heart sent no impulses. She was trapped.

            "Die." With that word, cruel laughter and whizzing noises filled the air.

            "Help!" Frisk screamed out, finally finding her voice. However nothing happened except that the laughter seemed to get louder. Frisk braced herself for the incoming attack but was met with nothing. She opened her sightless eyes in confusion, her heart fluttering with hope. Suddenly Frisk heard the crackling sound of a flame and a shriek of surprise. Frisk could smell smoke and began to panic that the room may be on fire. She was about to get up to run again when a gentle voice called out to her, "What a terrible creature, torturing such a poor, innocent youth…" Frisk flinched, this voice was concerned, compassionate, and even sounded genuine, but after what Frisk went through, she didn't know what wanted to kill her. Even with her numb arm, Frisk managed to crawl back slowly from the voice.

            "Ah, do not be afraid, my child. I am Toriel, caretaker of the Ruins." Frisk's mistrust and tension melted slightly when she mentioned that she was a caretaker. It reminded her of the caretakers in the orphanage, specifically the nurse who had the same compassion in her voice as Toriel.

            "I pass through this place every day to see if anyone has fallen down. You are the first human to come here in a long time." Frisk heard her footsteps come closer but didn't move, unable to decide whether or not to trust her. Toriel's footsteps, Frisk noticed, was muffled on the stone floor. It sounded like she was wearing socks. Her footsteps stopped in front of her. "Come! I will guide you through the catacombs." Frisk quickly went through her options and found only two. Reject her offer and probably run into more demon monsters/fall into lava or follow her and actually make it out of wherever Frisk was right now. She went with her second option and reached her hand up to the voice. She felt a fuzzy hand grab hers and pull her up, Frisk squeaked in surprise not expecting her hand to be so soft and furry. Was she… an animal? Suddenly it dawned on Frisk, 'First human to come here…' did that mean that the demon she had met earlier was _actually_ a flower? Frisk felt like she was going to have a bad time, seeing as she almost died to a flower.

            Toriel quickly began walking, with Frisk stumbling behind her. "This way." Toriel let go of her hand, much to Frisk's dissatisfaction, and began walking ahead of her. No longer being able to tell where she was Frisk panicked and called out to her, to which Toriel answered, "Yes my child? I'm right here..." Frisk sighed with relief and asked to hold her hand. "I- I- If that would make you feel better… alright." Seeing as her walking stick had disappeared, Frisk needed to hold Toriel's hand to make sure she didn't get lost. Toriel took Frisk's hand and smiled warmly at her, something Frisk didn't see and thus didn't respond to. Toriel looked at her with slight concern but kept walking. Eventually Frisk and Toriel made it to a second room. Inside, Frisk felt something crunch under her foot. Letting go of Toriel's hand she bent down and felt leaves. She scrunched her eyebrows together, baffled. _Is there a tree in here?_ She asked herself. Her hand brushed something different and she plucked it up from the ground. It felt like a long slender branch, causing Frisk to smile. _Perfect_ She stood back up and tapped the branch on the ground, moving it back and forth. It wasn't as good as her cane but it would have to do. "Are you done my child?" Toriel asked patiently and Frisk nodded, holding her hand once again. Retrieving a new walking stick, filled Frisk's heart with determination.

            **Saving . . .**

            After almost tripping up the stairs, they walked into a third room. Toriel let go of her hand and chirped, "Welcome to your new home, innocent one. Allow me to educate you in the operation of the Ruins." Suddenly Frisk heard clicking noises and instantly felt her mistrust rise again. Was she going to attack her with friendship pellets? Frisk felt her heart appear on her chest (which she hadn't even notice disappeared) as she braced herself. Five clicks, on the last one she heard a door open.

            Toriel, who didn't notice Frisk's fear, continued with her lesson, "The Ruins are full of puzzles. Ancient fusions between diversions and doorkeys." Frisk relaxed and felt her heart-soul disappear into her body, it was just the puzzle making the clicking noise, she realized.

            "One must solve them to move from room to room. Please adjust yourself to the sight of them." _The sight of them..._ Frisk rethought in her head, and felt a cold sweat damp her forehead. _Silence_. Frisk realized that Toriel probably wanted her to look at the puzzle. Taking her branch, Frisk moved to where she heard the clicking, and tapped the tile stones. Some were pushed down while others were raised. She was going to have trouble with this, Frisk could tell.

            "Are you done, my child?" Frisk nodded and took her hand yet again. They entered another room and Toriel released her hand.

            "To make progress here, you will need to trigger several switches." Frisk felt her face go pale.

            "Do not worry, I have labelled the ones that you need to flip." _Great._ Toriel took her hand again and walked her across a very small bridge. Frisk could have sworn she heard water.

            "Alright child, flip the switch." Toriel let go of her sweaty hand leaving Frisk pale and nervous. She took her stick and moved around, searching for the switch, Toriel looked at her completely baffled.

            "M- My child… the switch… is the other way. Oh dear did I not mark it enough…" She mumbled. Frisk blushed with embarrassment and turned around, eventually meeting a wall. She ran her hand along the wall, and felt bricks and vines. As she walked along she felt a switch with a chalky substance on it, but began to worry if there were more than one switch and if this was the wrong one. She kept going but felt no other switches. When she took another step she felt herself slip and fall into a shallow liquid.

            "Oh, oh dear, you were so close... are you alright?" Toriel rushed to her side and quickly pulled her out of the water. Frisk nodded shivering while Toriel sighed.

            "Let's… just skip this one." With a click, Toriel returned and grasped her hand. Frisk sneeze and sniffed loudly.

            "Do not be upset my child, I'm sure you'll do better on the next one." Frisk smiled at Toriel's mistake, though, slightly comforted by her concern. Toriel lead her across the bridge above the water Frisk had just fallen in and let go of her hand.

            "There are two switches, one of them is labeled, pull that switch my child." Toriel, slightly nudged her in the direction, yet Frisk felt her nervousness return again as she walked towards the wall. Two switches she felt, one had a chalky substance on it. She hoped that this chalky switch was the one Toriel had labeled. Frisk pulled down the lever and heard a click.

            "Splendid! I am proud of you, little one. Let us move to the next room." Frisk smiled successfully and took Toriel's hand, her heart warmed with the complements Toriel gave her even if it was a small victory. In the next room Toriel began her next lesson.

            "As a human living in the Underground, monsters may attack you. You will need to be prepared for this situation. However, worry not! The process is simple." She added, noticing Frisk's worried face.

            "When you encounter a monster, you will enter a fight. While you are in a fight, strike up a friendly conversation. Stall for time. I will come to resolve the conflict. Practice talking to the dummy." _There's a dummy?_ Frisk wondered and moved her stick back and forth while walking to find it, eventually she tapped something soft and assumed that that was what she was looking for. She felt her soul-heart form on her chest as the 'fight' commenced.

            "U- um, hello? How are you doing, today?" Frisk stuttered slightly unsure what to talk about. Frisk suddenly heard clapping and jumped slightly before realizing that it came from Toriel.

            "Ah, very good! You are very good." She took Frisk's hand yet again and they went into another room. Frisk began to wonder how many rooms there were and when her clothes were going to dry. She was a tad cold but the heart on her chest glowed with heat when she was 'Fighting.' Now the heart retreated into her body, taking its heat with it and leaving Frisk cold again.

            "There is another puzzle in this room… I wonder if you can solve it." Letting go of her hand, Toriel began to walk ahead with Frisk trailing behind her. After moving around a wall Frisk heard something croak like a frog and her heart form on her chest. _Does that mean this frog is a threat_ she wondered, her question was answered when something painful hit her chest. Without thinking she followed the impulses her heart sent her and managed to make it out of the bombardment of… whatever painful thing had hit her. The frog croaked again and she realized that this frog was _Huge_ probably half her size. _What do I do?_ Toriel's training rushed back to her and in a panic she piped up, "N- Nice um… skin?" The frog croaked in response to the complement and most likely had no idea what she said but didn't attack her again. Toriel glared at the frog, which caused the frog to hop away, leaving Frisk surprised that her talking actually scared the frog. With that done, Frisk caught up with Toriel, stopping right behind her.

            "This is the puzzle but… here, take my hand for a moment." Frisk took her hand and both began to walk across the puzzle. Frisk tapped the floor and noticed it was made of metal. After a few moments of walking she heard a **shink** noise occur every time she stepped off a metal tile, and she realized that she was being guided through spikes by Toriel. Frisk hadn't noticed how tight she was holding Toriel's hand until they finally made it back on stone ground. She quickly loosened her death grip. "The puzzles seem a little too dangerous for now…" she walked a few more steps before letting go of her hand. "You have done well thus far, my child. However, I have a difficult request to ask of you." Frisk wondered what could be harder than flipping a switch and fighting a frog but when she thought about it, Frisk realized how ridiculously easy these tasks were and frowned subconsciously.

            "I would like you to walk to the end of this hallway by yourself." Frisk frowned even more. Was Toriel annoyed with her for holding her hand so much, Frisk wondered, or was this another puzzle? She hoped there would be no climbing or spikes involved.

            "Forgive me for this." Suddenly Toriel took off with muffled steps and Frisk could no longer tell where she was. Frisk began to walk down the room with anxious steps, not knowing exactly what to expect. The room seemed to go on forever and Frisk began to worry if she was somehow going in a circle. Frisk was about to turn around to see if she missed something when she heard Toriel's voice. "Greetings, my child. Do not worry, I did not leave you. I was merely behind this pillar the whole time." Pillar? Frisk hadn't even noticed a pillar nearby.

            "Thank you for trusting me,"

            Frisk nodded with a bright smile. She couldn't help but warm up to this kind… animal caretaker. While overprotective, Toriel sounded like she actually cared about Frisk which she appreciated.

            "However, there was an important reason for this exercise… to test your independence. I must attend to some business, and you must stay alone for a while. Please remain here. It's dangerous to explore by yourself." Frisk's anxiety returned to her once again. She didn't want to stay in one spot and risk that flower finding her. She didn't know if that demon was dead or not but it was best not to find out. Before Frisk could ask to join her Toriel continued, "I have an idea. I will give you a cell phone. If you have a need for anything, just call." She felt Toriel place something in her hand and quickly discovered it to be a flip phone. Frisk quickly open it and found to her dissatisfaction that it was not in braille. She hoped that the buttons followed a regular number format and that the large button in the top was the 'call.' "Be good, alright?" Frisk nodded and Toriel quickly left. Frisk stood in the room for a few minutes before the atmosphere started to frighten her. She could hear dripping, cracking, and other noises that increased her anxiety. Eventually it became too much and she quickly rushed out of the room. Her phone rang, catching Frisk off guard and causing her to drop her stick and yelp in surprise. She fumbled with the flip phone but when she was about to open it another noise caught her off guard.

            **Ribbit. Ribbit.** She had recognized the sound and subconsciously threw her phone at it. **Crack.** "Hey, watch it! That almost hit me!" Frisk realized what she just did and groaned. The ringing stopped immediately after she tossed it, how was she going to contact Toriel now? "What is _wrong_ with you, human?" The voice croaked angrily

            "I- I'm sorry... you surprised me." Wait was the _frog_ talking to her? Did everything talk under this mountain? God she had so many questions.

            "Well, if throwing cell phones is how you fight monsters let me give you some advice. If you act a certain way or fight until you almost defeat someone… they might not what to battle you. If a monster does not want to fight you, please… use some mercy, human. **Ribbit**." With that the frog hopped away. Frisk suddenly felt guilty but moved over to where the frog used to be, and felt around for her phone, only finding shattered parts. Oops, she must had thrown that phone harder than she thought. She was glad she hadn't hurt the frog, since it didn't want to fight her in the first place. _Well… nowhere to go but forward I guess_ she thought with determination and grabbed her branch.

            **Saving. . .**

            She stuck close to the wall and discovered an entrance, walking inside she heard water and leaves crunch underfoot. She tapped a column of some sort with her stick. She touched it and felt a bowl on top filled with what sounded and felt like something wrapped in plastic. She grabbed one and unwrapped it, sniffing it carefully. It smelled like candy and Frisk gave a tentative lick. It was, in fact, a sweetly distinct flavored candy. Frisk had never had candy that often in the orphanage, and without questioning why there was candy in a room, took a handful from the bowl, accidentally knocking it over and shattering it on the floor. _Shoot._ She felt like the scum of the earth and dropped all of her candy except for the one she already put in her mouth. The room seemed to be a dead end so she turned around and walked out. She really hoped she wouldn't get lost.

            After a few steps, she heard something flapping causing her heart to appear on her chest. It sounded like it was whimpering in fear or sadness which made Frisk slightly concerned.

            "Ar-" Suddenly the flying creature (Whimsun) burst into tears and its flapping started to sound far off. Was it something she said? Although slightly spooked she continued on, eventually going right into another entrance. After five steps the ground cracked and disappeared beneath her causing her to scream in terror as she fell for the second time today. She didn't fall for long and fell into a pile of leaves, which broke her fall. Breathing out a sigh of relief, she pulled herself, and her stick, out and into another entrance. She hoped she could find a way to get back up where she fell or else she feared Toriel might not ever find her. Luckily she found stairs and walked back up to where she had fallen. She tapped the hole with her stick and more rocks crumbled off, falling in. Well, she wasn't going back there. She turned around and walked down the corridor. Eventually she tapped something with her stick and knelt down to touch the object. It was made of cool metal and circular but got very pointed at the top. Spikes, she recognized and frowned, she tapped her stick above it and discovered that she could probably jump over it. Not wanting to risk it though, she felt around the walls for a lever but found none. She scrunched her eyebrows together in frustration and was about to try and jump over the spikes when she walked on a tile that deflated as soon as she put weight on it. She heard the spikes move and immediately took her foot off the tile. **Shink**. _Oh_ she thought as she realized the puzzle and began searching for something heavy to put on the keystone. She quickly found a rock and pushed it on the keystone. The spikes moved again and when she went towards them they were gone, nothing but metal plates and holes. She walked across the metal tiles feeling a wave of success and adrenaline fill her short body.

            In the next room Frisk heard a cracking noise and realized that the floor was probably as unstable as the last room she was in. Carefully, and worriedly, she used her stick to make sure the ground was solid before she put her weight on it, creating several holes in the process but eventually she made it to completely solid ground without falling through, allowing her to finally breath. She didn't know if her heart could take another fall without having a heart attack. As soon as she passed through another room frame she heard a squishing noise. Her heart appeared on her chest as the squishing got louder. **Blurb Blurb.** The short monster seemed to be trying to communicate with her but she didn't understand, suddenly Frisk felt something sharp hit her foot and realized that the slimy monster thing was attacking her. During the attack her heart sent impulses, but they were mixed and confusing, lending no help to Frisk. More sharp blows hit her body before it finally ceased. Gasping and panting in pain she remembered what the frog told her. _If you act a certain way… they may not want to battle you._ Despite her brain telling her not to, Frisk laid herself down on the floor and imitated the creature, making a Blurbing noise. The monster squished closer to her and blurbed happily, nuzzling her face before squishing away. Gross gelatin slime stuck to Frisk's face and she quickly whipped it off, completely disgusted.

            Some length of time went on as Frisk went from room to room. Solving each puzzle in the rooms proved to be difficult and at some times she spent what felt like hours in one room. In the process she met a ghost named Napstablook who cried acid tears, talking vegetables, dancing bug men, and a rock who got mad at her for pushing him around. It was honestly the weirdest and most exhausting day of her life. She lost track of how many rooms she went into and she was almost certain she was lost.

            Eventually Frisk found a room with a tree, the first one she had seen under this mountain and same one probably shedding leaves everywhere. It was quiet so Frisk collapsed under the oak and felt her sleepiness take hold. Her body ached from where the monsters attacked her but other than that, she just wanted to sleep. She was about to close her eyes when a familiar voice awoke her. "Oh dear, that took longer than I thought it would." _Toriel!_ Frisk heard her dial a phone, supposedly not seeing here behind the tree. Frisk got up and ran towards her voice, hugging her tightly when she crashed into her. Toriel stumbled back slightly in shock but didn't push her away and instead hugged her back, asking, "How did you get here, my child… and why didn't you answer my calls?" Frisk felt tears leak out of her eyes and soak into Toriel's robe. While Frisk solved puzzle after puzzle she began to think that she was going to be endlessly lost in the catacombs forever. She started to lose hope of hearing Toriel's sweet voice again.

            Frisk's sudden burst of emotion, startled Toriel, who broke the hug and began fussing, "Are you hurt?" Toriel did a once-over and frowned when she found Frisk covered head to toe with bruises and scrapes. She hugged Frisk again, rubbing her back and cooed "There, there, I will heal you." In a flash the pain vanished, still surprising Frisk even after everything.

            "I should not have left you alone for so long. It was irresponsible for me to surprise you like this." Frisk blinked and pulled away from the hug, looking at her curiously "What surprise?"

            "Er…." Toriel mumbled, realizing she just gave away the surprise portion of the surprise. "Well, I suppose I cannot hide it any longer. Come, small one!" Toriel stood up and took Frisk's hand. For once, Frisk was happy someone else was leading. She smiled up to Toriel, even though she didn't know if she could see it. Her reunion with Toriel filled her with determination.

            **Saving. . .**

            Frisk assumed they had walked into a house, since Frisk's footsteps and stick clucked and squeaked under hardwood floor. It was also warm and the air smelled of deliciousness.

            "Do you smell that?"

            Frisk nodded eagerly and asked, "Are you cooking pie?"

            "Surprise! Yes, it is a butterscotch-cinnamon pie. I hope you do not mind that I did not ask what flavor you wanted. I would have asked you through your cell phone, but you did not pick up. What happened?" She asked.

            Frisk blushed at the memory, "It broke."

            "Ah, I see… do not fear, I have an extra." Frisk heard Toriel shuffle away then return, putting another flip phone in her palm.

            "Here you go, take care of it." Frisk nodded, promising to herself not to throw it at a frog this time.

            "Anyways, I thought we might celebrate your arrival. I want you to have a nice time living here. So I will hold off on the snail pie tonight. Here I have another surprise for you." She took Frisk's hand and walked her down a hallway. After a few moments they stopped, "A room of your very own. I hope you like it!" Frisk stood still, dumbfounded. Was Toriel her mom now? Toriel rubbed Frisk's head affectionately before she exclaimed distraughtly, "Is something burning…? Um, make yourself at home!"

            Frisk didn't know exactly how to feel or what to say, so she was glad she was spared from responding. She tapped the door with her stick, before opening the handle. She walked inside and immediately found the bed, throwing herself upon it and curling under the sheets. She was exhausted, cold, and wondered what time it was. Had John discovered that she had disappeared despite her promise? If so, he would probably be crying his eyes out. She frowned, it was her fault he would be feeling that way. No, she couldn't stay here no matter how kind Toriel was, she missed John and was starting to feel homesick. Even though she always dreamed of being adopted, Frisk didn't want to abandon civilization and the earth itself. The Ruins had only one tree, no sunlight or warmth, no other humans to talk to, and the monsters wanted to hurt her. Exhaustion pulled on her eyelids. _Tomorrow… tomorrow I will leave…_

            In the morning, or… afternoon, (Frisk couldn't really tell) she discovered her mom, Toriel, had left her a pie. However, it was on the floor, so she ended up skewering it with her stick by mistake, getting gooey butterscotch pie all over the bottom of her stick and on the floor. She got out of her dirty river clothes and changed into clean clothes she found in closet. Using her dirty clothes she covered up her mess and cleaned her stick. Quickly dashing out of the room she called for Toriel. She answered back, tell Frisk she was in the living room, to the left of Frisk's room. Moving to the left she heard Toriel call out, "Up already, I see? Um, I want you to know how glad I am to have someone here." Ouch, here comes the guilt.

            "There are so many old books I want to share. I want to show you my favorite bug-hunting spot. I also prepared a curriculum for your education. This may come as a surprise to you… but I have always wanted to be a teacher… actually, perhaps that isn't very surprising. STILL. I am glad to have you living here. Oh, did you want something? What is it?" Frisk frowned, feeling awful for wanting to leave… but… she already made up her mind. She had already made a promise.

            "When can I go home?"

            Her voice indicated hurt immediately, "What? This… this IS your home now." Frisk looked up sadly towards Toriel. This was going to be difficult. She appreciated everything Toriel had done for her but it was never Frisk's intention to stay in the Ruins.

            "Um… would you like to hear about this book I am reading? It is called 72 Uses for Snails." Another reason to leave, Frisk didn't want to eat snails.

            "How about it?" She asked with too much hope laced in her voice.

            "No, how do I leave the Ruins, Toriel?" Frisk asked forcefully, guilt-ridden but persistently countering her question.

            "Um… how about an exciting snail fact? Did you know that snails... sometimes flip their digestive systems as they mature. Interesting." Scratch that, Frisk _really_ didn't want to eat snails now. Gagging on the inside she answered.

            "Please mom, I want to leave." Frisk missed the hurt expression on Toriel's face but could feel that she hurt her feelings.

            "...I have to do something." Toriel quickly got up and moved past her, walking/running down stairs. Frisk knew she was up to something and quickly followed after her, going as fast as she could without falling. After walking down the stairs she felt herself crash into Toriel, however Frisk was able to steady herself without falling over. "You wish to know how to return 'Home' do you not?" She asked, except now her voice was bland and emotionless, frightening Frisk. Frisk gulped, "Yes."

            "Ahead of us lies the end of the Ruins. A one-way exit to the rest of the underground. _I am going to destroy it_. No one will ever be able to leave again. Now be a good child and go upstairs." Toriel almost seemed to growl at the last sentence, before quickly walking away. Frisk's blood ran cold. _Destroy it?_ She felt like Toriel had just lost her mind, why was she forcing her to stay here? Frisk gritted her teeth, and felt determination rush through her body, filling her with adrenaline. She won't let Toriel stand in her way, she didn't know how she was going to stop her but Frisk just knew that she didn't have a _choice_. She needed to keep going, it was wrong to stay here.

            **Saving. . .**

            Waving her stick quickly, she dashed after Toriel through the long narrow hallway, running into her yet again. "Every human that falls down here meets the same fate. I have seen it again and again. They come. They leave. They die. You naive child… if you leave the Ruins. They… Asgore… Will kill you. I am only protecting you. Do you understand?" She didn't. She knew monsters wanted to hurt her but who was Asgore? She looked blankly at Toriel which caused her to growl. "...go to your room" She walked off again, but Frisk followed after her.

            "Do not try to stop me. This is your final warning." Toriel told her simply, before dashing quickly ahead. Frisk stopped dead in her tracks when she felt her heart appear on her chest. _No… oh no please no._ Frisk thought as started up again and quickly turned a corner. After a few step she heard Toriel speak up, "You want to leave so badly? Hmph. You are just like the others." Her voice held scorn within in. Frisk looked at Toriel with a hurt expression but she continued blandly, "There is only one solution to this." _A friendly conversation?_ She hoped, however her heart glowed brighter.

            "Prove yourself… prove to me you are strong enough to survive." _No. No. No._ She repeated in her head. Suddenly she felt something burning hot barely miss her shoulder and she flinched, dropping her stick. Her heart hammered on her chest, panic overridden her mind, causing her heart to send no impulses. Frisk began to panic even more. The area smelled of smoke and fire. Toriel was casting balls of fire at her. In a flash her leg burned painfully and Frisk crumpled on the ground. The pain was excruciating and she heard her leg sizzle with heat. Frisk screamed in pain yet more flames hit her. Burning Sizzling Pain. Toriel didn't say a word but her expression was shocked and horrified, "M- my child. Why aren't you dodging?" She called out but Frisk didn't respond, too engulfed in pain. A sudden burst of fire hit her heart, melting it and causing red liquid to pour on the floor.

            **Game over. . .**

            Toriel covered her hands with her face as she stared at her child who laid dead and roasted on the floor. "Oh… Oh my god." She mumbled into her hands. _Why didn't she dodge?_ She asked herself rapidly until the realization dawned on her. The stick, the way the child looked at her sightlessly, the reason she didn't dodge.

            Her child couldn't see.

            _Why didn't she tell me?_ Toriel asked herself, reprimanding herself for being so oblivious. She crouched beside the dead child and cried.

            **Loading. . .**

            Frisk gasped and fell on her knees, clutching her heart while breathing heavily. "Every human that falls down here meets the same fate. I have seen it again and again. They come. They leave. They die. You naive child… if you leave the Ruins. They… Asgore… Will kill you. I am only protecting you. Do you understand? Go to your room." Thumping steps scurried away. _What?_ Frisk thought franticly, she heard this before… what is going on? Why isn't her body hurting? She pushed herself back up and followed Toriel. "Do not try to stop me. This is your final warning." Toriel told her simply, before dashing quickly ahead. Frisk stopped dead in her tracks, _I've heard this before… it's all the same… what is going on? Toriel had attacked me and she… did… did I…_

            _Die?_

            Frisk put her palm on her forehead, feeling a headache starting to develop. After rubbing her head, Frisk dashed forward remembering Toriel was about to destroy the exit. After turning a corner, Toriel spoke up. "You want to leave so badly? Hmph. You are just like the others." Her voice held the same scorn within in. "There is only one solution to this." Frisk heart glowed brighter.

            "Prove yourself… prove to me you are strong enough to survive." It's the same. It was all the same, Frisk realized. It was like if Frisk died and… restarted. Suddenly she felt something burning hot barely miss her shoulder and she flinched, dropping her stick. _Am I going to die again?_ She asked herself fearfully but quickly remembered what had happened next. An impulse flooded her heart and she quickly dodge to the side. A hot flame missed her foot. Her heart hammered on her chest but Frisk swallowed back panic. Frisk followed her impulses and avoid the assault with only a slight burn. This was as far as she got last time. As the flames decreased she begged Toriel to stop but she didn't say anything. Another assault.

            "Toriel, please, I don't want to fight you!"

            "...What are you doing" She finally answered as Frisk continued to dodge. Frisk gasped as flame hit her left arm, sizzling with excruciating pain.

            "Attack or run away!"

            "Please Toriel! I won't fight you!" She screamed out. She held her arm as another impulse overcame her. Frisk moved to the right, missing a large clump of fire.

            Toriel took a deep breath. "What are you proving this way?" _More fire. Move to the right, move to the left, then move right again._ Her heart told her. She obeyed and dodged again. _Now, **kill** her. _She flinched at this impulse. She didn't know where this thought came from but she shook her head. "Toriel, please stop!"

            "Fight me or leave." Frisk dodged the flames again. The impulse to kill returning.

            "Stop it." Toriel commanded. Frisk looked at her voice, hurt and conflicted. Frisk's impulses started to become confusing and hard to follow. _Move to the right_. She obeyed but felt a sharp pain hit her leg. The flame didn't hurt as bad as her arm but Frisk was shocked that her impulse was wrong.

            "Stop looking at me that way." Frisk could hear the strain in Toriel's voice and knew she was winning her over.

            "Go away!" Toriel called out, and attacked her the harshest she had yet. _Left. Right. Stay still. **Kill** her! _Frisk ignored the last impulse. After a few more attacks no more impulses came. Frisk began to panic until she realized that Toriel wasn't attacking her anymore.

            "I know you want to go home, but… but please… go upstairs now." Frisk didn't move, but instead held her burned arm in silence.

            "I promise I will take good care of you here. I know we don't have much but… we can have a good life here. " Her voice was hopeful again but Frisk shook her head. Even though Frisk was sparing Toriel she didn't trust Toriel anymore. She was just as bad as all the monsters that had attacked her. _You should **kill** her. _Her impulse returned but she shook her head. No… Toriel attacked her but she didn't deserve to die. No one did.

            "Why are you making this so difficult? Please go upstairs." Frisk shook her head. Toriel laughed. "Pathetic, is it not? I cannot even save a single child." Frisk frowned and shook her head again.

            "Toriel-"

            "No." She interrupted. "I understand. You would just be unhappy trapped down here. The Ruins are very small once you get used to them. It would not be right for you to grow up in a place like this. My expectation… My loneliness… My fear… for you, my child… I will put them aside." Suddenly the heart on Frisk's chest, dissolved into her body. It's over…

            "If you truly want to leave the Ruins. I will not stop you. However, when you leave… Please do not come back. I hope you understand." Toriel pulled Frisk in a hug and the burns on her body began to fade into nothingness. Frisk didn't understand but nodded, hugging her back. Goodbye, my child. With that Toriel broke the hug and left.

            Frisk frowned. She did it, but she still had questions. She had died then came back to life. How was that even possible? She shook her head, _nothing here made sense._ She felt around for her stick but only found charred ash. So much for that. She got up and walked around the room until she felt a door. She paused as a rush of determination filled her. She opened the door and walked inside.

            **Saving. . .**


	3. Skeletons, Voices, and Mr. Rosser

" _Frisk pass the ball!" John shouted, his high pitched voice rang loudly in the courtyard, so it was easy for Frisk to pinpoint where he was. She threw her weight dramatically forward and threw the ball with all her force. The ball slammed on the grass and bounced back up into the air. "Whoa, Frisk that went up so high!" John remarked and tried to adjust himself to catch it. He missed and the ball started to bounce away. "Oh shoot. Frisk, I'll be right back." Frisk nodded with a smile, happy that she was able to impress John. It was a warm spring day and the children of the orphanage took advantage of this. Girls and boys were chasing each other, some playing ring-around-the-rosy, while other kids were playing with hula hoops and balls that the orphanage provided. To get a ball or a hula hoop, though, was a deadly battle, Involving pushing, shoving, and stealing, so Frisk wasn't able to participate but John was more than glad too._

            _Frisk loved spring and the flowers that bloomed at the edge of the fence. They had a distinct, sweet smell to them, but once Frisk had tried to eat one. Sadly she discovered that they did not taste as sweet as they smelled, had gotten sick, and had to go to the nurse. Frisk picked a flower and felt the soft petals as she waited for John. Despite the taste, Frisk loved the texture of the flower; it was soft, furry and as light as a feather. Frisk had shown these flowers to John in the past, and had put them in his hair, but after a while he wouldn't stop sneezing. Now he avoided the flowers like the plague. Frisk felt a light tap on her shoulder and turned around._

            _"Frisk, Mr. Rosser is waiting for you, don't you remember?" The caretaker asked, causing Frisk's silvery-brown eyes to widen in surprise. Frisk couldn't believe she forgot! She had been up all night waiting for today and her first meeting with the Rosser's._

            " _Come, let's go... oh and don't forget your cane!" Frisk nodded, plucking her cane from the ground while holding the caretaker's hand. Forgetting about John, they walked through the chaos that was the courtyard and into the building. They took a right into a hallway then a left into a small room._

            " _Ah you must be Frisk. I am very eager to meet you. I apologize that my wife couldn't come, she is ill." The man spoke up, he had a business voice that rang loudly in the small room. The caretaker let go of her hand to close the door and Frisk smiled towards the man, feeling around for a chair. Upon finding one, she sat down and put her cane to the side. The man huffed frustratingly, yet Frisk didn't know why. What she didn't know was that the man had held out a hand for her to shake but she had blindly walked past it. The man sat back down and introduced himself as Robert Rosser but preferred to be called Mr. Rosser. Frisk nodded just as the caretaker sat down next to her. The caretaker asked some questions to Mr. Rosser and everything was going very well until Mr. Rosser asked a question of his own. "What's wrong with her eyes?" Frisk had looked to Rosser with a confused expression. Other than being blind, nothing was wrong with her eyes as far as Frisk knew._

            " _I'm blind." Frisk answered and the nurse continued, "U- uh y- yes, the silver in her eyes was present since her birth due to a disord-"_

            " _What?" The man interrupted. His voice sounded angry which confused Frisk even more._

            " _Why didn't you tell me she was blind?" The man continued, irritation riddled in his voice. Frisk frowned, hurt displayed clearly on her face. She had a feeling that this meeting was going to go south, very quickly._

            " _Mr. Rosser, Frisk is a very intelligent girl, I'm sure-"_

            " _All that paperwork for a disabled child! You should have at least informed me of this so I could have rescheduled for a normal child!" Mr. Rosser fumed, glaring at the caretaker._

            " _Mr. Rosser it is shameful to speak to a child in this manner." The caretaker spoke up, her voice rising. The man laughed._

            " _Shameful? I didn't spend a fortune on a plane ticket to find out I adopted a blind child. I don't want her and I will sue you and this entire orphanage for withholding information!" The man quickly got up and left the office with a slam of a door. Frisk looked down into her lap and felt tears leak out of her eyes and fall down her face. The caretaker had tried to cheer her up with supporting words but it didn't lighten what the man had said to her. He didn't want anything to do with her because she was blind._

            Bitter air met Frisk's face the instant she pulled the door open. Her face recoiled in discomfort, but she went through the door anyways. She walked slowly and listened to the rhythmic tapping of her feet as she walked on the stone floor. She moved slow, worried she might run into spikes or traps. Without her stick, she felt naked in a sense and couldn't judge her surrounding at all. Her whole frontal vision was gone and she had to rely on her hearing instead of her stick to tell her what was around her. _How long have I been walking, does this hallway never end?_

            "Clever. Verrrryyy clever." Frisk froze in her tracks, her face dripping with trepidation when she recognize the demonic voice. If it wasn't for Frisk being 'caught in the headlights.' she would have turned tail and ran for her life. Back to Toriel, back to safety, back to butterscotch-cinnamon pie.

            "You think you're really smart, don't you?" Frisk shook her head quickly, hoping to defuse the conflict she had somehow cause with Flowey, however the demon laughed darkly.

            "In this world it's kill or be killed. Don't think you can hide your secret from everybody, some of us aren't idiots." _He knows,_ Frisk grimaced as if Flowey had attacked her. "...So you were able to play by your own rules. You spared the life of a single person and managed to hide your secret." The flower gave a callous laugh which echo through the chilled air, bouncing of the walls and sounding ten times scarier to Frisk. "I bet you feel really great." Actually that was quite the opposite, Frisk was terrified. If Flowey knew she was blind, why didn't he just kill her with his friendship bullets?

            "You didn't have to kill anyone this time. But what will you do if you meet a relentless killer? You'll die and you'll die and you'll die." Frisk's eyes widened, he _knew_ why she came back to life after she had died.

            "Until you tire of trying. What will you do then? Will you kill out of frustration? Or will you give up entirely on this world… and let ME inherit the power to control it?"

            "What power?" She asked timidly, her fear unable to stop her rabid hungry curiosity. Flowery raised a nonexistent eyebrow towards the child.

            "You haven't figured it out yet? You really _are_ an idiot." Frisk scrunched her face, her fear changing into frustration.

            "The power to _Save_ and _Load_. The power to live on after death using your… _determination._ " As Frisk remembered the painful memory of her death, she realized that when she had died she 'came back to life.' where she was the most determined to get past Toriel. Was this a super power? To live on after death by sheer determination? Something painful hit her foot and she squeaked in surprise and pain. After moving back a few steps she felt her heart appear on her chest.

            "Don't get too cocky now… you're still weak. If I wanted to, I could kill you now. _Over and Over and Over._ " Another sadistic laugh rung in the air, chilling Frisk to the bone as this realization hit her. Suddenly the 'super' power seemed less appealing.

            "I am, after all, the prince of this world's future. Don't worry, my little monarch, my plan isn't regicide. This is SO much more interesting." With one final laugh, silence ebbed into the room, dripping off the ceiling and falling upon Frisk. After a few minutes of cowering in her fear, Frisk assumed the flower had left. Frisk rethought everything Flowey had told her and ran a hand through her hair. She just wanted to go back to John but now she felt she was being sucked into something inevitable. Her hand shook, not by the chilled air but from anxiety. She need to keep going, she needed to stay determined. It was her only way to survive. After a deep shuddering breath, she began to walk, dissolving the dripping silence with each rhythmic footstep only broken by her slight limp.

            **Saving. . .**

            Frisk ran her hand along the wall until she reached something that felt like a large, stone door. Using a large amount of strength, she pulled the heavy door open. It didn't make a sound as it opened but benumbing air hit Frisk's face in almost an instant. She recoiled from the door, accidently shutting it before she could go through. In the mere second the door was open, she was already shivering and chattering her teeth. Freezing didn´t even begin to describe the temperature outside the Ruins and she began to regret her wardrobe choice of a large t-shirt and shorts.

            After mentally preparing herself, she tugged open the door again, barely managing to squeeze herself out without crushing herself. As the door closed behind her Frisk realized she had no idea where to go. She bit her lip as she hugged herself to contain any heat left within her. She couldn't hear anything that suggested a town or a monster nearby and frowned. It was too late to go back, seeing as Toriel had forbid her to return. Frisk still didn't understand why. She took a step forward, flinching as her foot made a loud crunch. Shocked, she knelt down to touch the ground. It was powdery and cold in her fingers, and reminded her of ice, but Frisk didn't know what it was. Suddenly it dawned on Frisk, _was this snow?_ Frisk remembered the caretakers talking about it but Frisk had imagined snow feeling softer and not as numbingly cold. Assuming that this substance was snow, she shook it off her hand and stood up. _Where do I go from here?_ She asked herself and found only one answer. _Forward… find some non-hostile and ask for directions, simple right?_ Taking another step, however, Frisk unfortunately discovered that the snow was very deep and met a little below her knee.

            Melted snow damped her shoes making Frisk's feet start to burn as she continued to trudge through the snow. Suddenly she ran into something long and hard, causing her to lose her balance. Due to her feet being encased in snow, she couldn't rebalance herself and fell backwards. She sunk slightly in the snow, but quickly pushed herself up when she felt the melted snow run down back. After she got up with a yelp, she clung to the thing she had ran into as if it was her only lifeline. It felt like a long, rough tree with only short stubs of dead branches that had tried to grow. _Ok that was a bad start. I just need to calm down and try again…_ removing her death grip from the tree, Frisk moved a few steps before running head first into another similar tree. She rubbed her head and groaned when she felt a small amount of blood well on her forehead. If she'd had her actual cane or her stick, she would have been able to avoid the tree. Frisk mentally reprimanded herself for leaving her cane behind. Her eyes widened with the sudden realization that Toriel might find her cane. She had been trying to keep her blindness a secret from Toriel, afraid that she might abandon her upon the realization of her weakness, but now Frisk worried that Toriel might find the cane and bring her back to the Ruins. She had to leave the area quickly. Taking a cold breath, which burned her already cold lungs, she turned away from the second tree in a different direction. She had expected to step into more deep snow but realized that she had found a shallow area, to which her feet remained above the surface. Two steps forward, however, the snow went back to deepness. After turning back to the shallow snow she stood puzzled for a few seconds before realizing it was a path. After finding a direction that continued shallowly, she pressed on feeling a rush of determination upon finding a path. She hoped it would lead her to someone who could help her.

            **Saving. . .**

            Learning from her previous mistake, Frisk put her hands slightly in front of her to prevent herself from running into anything else. She lightly touched her wound with a cold finger, happy to find that the fluid had hardened and no longer oozed her sticky blood. After a few shuffled steps, her foot ran into something large and hard. Bending down, she touched the object and identified it as a long, sturdy branch. She frowned when she realized it was too heavy to use as a replacement cane. Standing back up, she skillfully walked over it without tripping herself in the process, and continued down the straight path. She was glad the path was straight, that way she didn't constantly run into the sides- **_CRUNCH_** Frisk flinched as this sudden noise dragged her out of her thoughts. It sounded like a large branch breaking but the only branch she ran into what the one she had just identified. Her hands fell to her sides as she turned towards the sound, terror dripping from her words, ¨W- who's there?¨ she called out but no one answered. Frisk's face would have gone pale if it wasn't bright red from the cold.

            That branch Frisk had found was far too sturdy to have been easily broken. Frisk swallowed a sticky wad of saliva as she turned around and continued down the path, walking quicker than she had previously. Her body shook violently in terror as she listened carefully to the crunching of her footsteps and noticed them slightly off beat. _Something is following me._ The paranoid thought sent a cold shiver of fear down her spine causing her to break into a sprint, despite her better judgement. Of course, she couldn't manage to run in a straight line and tripped over the border of the path, landing in a pile of frigid snow. Her heart appeared on her chest as she screamed in terror, almost certain of her imminent and gruesome death. "whoa, whoa... calm down kid." Frisk stopped screaming only to flip herself over onto her back. She felt herself hyperventilating as she pushed herself away from the voice, not knowing that she was inching closer to the edge of a cliff. "wait, kid… stop!" She felt something grab her leg, something boney and as cold as the snow she fell in. The monster pulled her leg back, causing Frisk to panic. Her heart glowed and beat rapidly on her chest.

            "Stop, Stop! Please, let go of me!" She screamed and tried to use her other foot to blindly kick the monster. "i'm trying to help you, calm down!" The monster yelled, dodging her attack and grabbing her other leg. The monster dragged her roughly onto the path before eventually letting go of her feet. Frisk laid motionless on the path breathing heavily from the terrible scare she had received. "kid, are you alright, you're forehead is… uh. bleeding." Slightly delirious, Frisk reached up and touched her forehead to indeed confirm that she was bleeding again. "heh, sorry about that… i'm sans, sans the skeleton. let me help you up." Frisk paused, unsure whether or not to trust him, but for now she just wanted to get off the freezing path. She reached up a hand and Sans quickly grasped it, pulling her up. **Pfftbbbbfpfppfffttttfffffffff….** Frisk quickly pulled away her hand when this sound erupted, her face plastered with surprise and mistrust. "hehehe… the old woopie cushion in the hand trick. it's always funny." Frisk didn't laugh but relaxed slightly when he identified what the sound was. Seeing as the monster hadn't intentionally attacked her yet, she was about to ask for directions when he popped a question first.

            "anyways, you're a human, right?" She nodded in his direction, wrapping her arms around herself to generate some heat to prevent her shivers. Her clothes by now were soaked in cold liquid and the slight breeze tore away any of her heat. "that's hilarious. i'm actually supposed to be on watch for humans right now." Frisk felt a wave of fear roll over her as the skeleton explained this. Did he work for Asgore, would he bring her to him to have her killed? Frisk still didn't know why these monsters hated humans but she didn't want to find out. She thought about running but she didn't think she would get that far, considering how well it went the last time. "but… y'know… I don't really care about capturing anybody." She sighed deeply, relieved that he wasn't going to send her to her doom. "now my brother, papyrus… he's a human hunting fanatic. hey, actually, I think that's him over there." Frisk flinched and felt her fear come back. She listened carefully but didn't hear any crunching footsteps, _Sans brother must be far off_ she concluded. "i have an idea. go through this gate thingy. my bro made the bars too wide to stop anyone." _Shoot_ Her teeth clenched tightly but she didn't dare tell him she was blind, her old anxiety of abandonment mixed with her mistrust of the skeleton prevented her from doing so. Why was he helping her anyways? Finally deciding to do something, she turned back towards the path and continued down it, hoping to run into the gate. Sans followed closely behind her, watching her with a confused expression. She held out her hands slightly in front of her, careful not to run into the bars. Eventually her hand touched something and she ran her hand along it, feeling the rough texture of the wood. She took another tentative step and realized that she had (luckily) stepped on a bridge. After carefully making it through the gate, she stopped and asked Sans, who was beside her, "What should I do." Despite hearing far off crunching footsteps, she couldn't help but panic.

            "quick, hide behind that conveniently shaped lamp." Oh. _Oh…_ Frisk felt her panic increase.

            "W- Where?" She asked by mistake, harshly reprimanding herself for her slip up caused by her panic.

            "what do you mean? can't you see it?" She swallowed roughly in fear but didn't dare move. She would never find it, she knew, and she couldn't run that far either. Sans turned his head towards Frisk with a confused look ¨...uh, kid what are you doing?¨ Faced with no other ideas, Frisk had decided to hide behind the skeleton the best she could, but realized too late that San's brother could probably see her through him. As the footsteps grew closer, Frisk´heart appeared on her chest and beat rapidly. "SANS! HAVE YOU FOUND A HUMAN YET!?" It was a loud, slightly high pitched male voice.

            "yeah." Sans answered, lifting his arm to reveal Frisk to his brother.

            "REALLY!? WOWIE! GUESS THAT'S SETTLED!" The footsteps turned swiftly around and faded away. Frisk exhaled a long sigh of relief before stepping away from Sans. She was very relieved that Papyrus hadn´t captured her, seeing as how bad this confrontation could have been. She felt a hand on her shoulder and flinched in fear until she realized that it was Sans. ¨that worked out, huh?¨ Frisk nodded, breathing heavily. Her heart disappeared from her chest and she was freezing once again. ¨why didn't you hid behind the lamp?" He asked with suspicion mixed with honest curiosity. She knitted her eyebrows together _because I can't see…_ ¨I… panicked…" She answered weakly, rubbing her arms up and down to warm herself up. Her skin was starting to sting in some areas due to the cold.

            Sans raised an 'eyebrow' at Frisk´s answer but didn't press on it and instead slowly took off his jacket. He knew that she was hiding something but he couldn't figure out what exactly, though to be honest, he was just relieved to see her again. Though she was skittish and… weirder than the first timeline he was glad that **she** was gone. Maybe he can actually keep his promise to her. He felt a tug of grief in his chest cavity but pushed it away. She didn't remember him, but all that mattered was that Frisk's plan had worked. ¨kid, you look frozen to the _bone_.here." He held out his jacket to her, chuckling slightly at his own pun. The kid didn't laugh and instead looked confused. Detaching the hand grasped to her arm, she reached out to touch the jacket.

            Frisk delicately took the object Sans had given to her, feeling the material over her hand. It had a furry texture that reminded her of the flowers by the fence of the orphanage, and she smiled at the similarity. It wasn't a flower though, it was far too heavy and large. She smiled brightly, happy to have a warm article of clothing. After a slight struggle with the the arm holes, she eventually got it on. The jacket was too large on her but she felt herself warm up instantly and she wholeheartedly thanked the skeleton.

            ¨no problem kid, you oughta get going though. but don't worry, my brother isn't dangerous. even when he tries to be." Frisk nodded doubtfully, but before the skeleton could walk away Frisk quickly asked, ¨Wait Sans."

            "yeah kid, what's the hold up?"

            "I can leave, right? …the Underground, I mean." She asked, weakly hopping it wasn't too far or too difficult, but seeing as everything (almost everything) wanted to kill her she didn´t place a high bet. The skeleton shuffled slightly, unsure of how much to tell her. It was Papyrus who told her, or at least that's what happened in the first timeline. The long pause flooded Frisk with dread _please tell me the rumor is false. Please tell me I can leave…_

            "yes, but... it's a long story, and you don't want my brother coming back or you might have to deal with my **sans** ational puns." Frisk face scrunched when she recognized the pun. He had made a very good point. Sans laughed slightly at her expression.

            "...for now just follow the path and get past my brother and his puzzles." Frisk nodded, simply relieved to learn that there was a way to escape. Despite her disadvantage it filled her with determination. With fresh hope burning in her chest, she turned back to the path and was about to set off when Sans called out, "ah… wait, didn't catch your name. you have one right?" Sans lied. She nodded with a smile, her brown bangs falling on her narrowed eyes as she answered,

            "Frisk." Sans sighed in relief which confused Frisk, who turned her head towards him for an explanation, but none came.

            "anyways, _frisk_ , i'll be up ahead." He turned and walked in the opposite direction of Frisk which baffled her even more. Wouldn't he be following the path his brother took?

            **Saving. . .**

            Frisk continued down the path carefully, making sure she wasn't going to walk off any cliffs. Despite the jacket Sans had given her, she was still cold and her teeth wouldn't stop chattering. Her shoes were damp and clogged with snow, which made her feet sting with every step. Luckily her forehead had stopped bleeding and she had entered an area that smelled pleasantly of pine trees which was a welcomed distraction to the unpleasant numbness of her body. Sniffing deeply, she walked off the path until she felt something poke her healing forehead. Reaching up a cold, abnormally pale hand, she pulled down a long spiny branch that smelled of fragrant pine. She tugged on it violently, in hopes of break off the branch, however it remained stubbornly fused to the trunk. Her grip faltered, allowing the spiny branch to slip through her hands as she fell backwards into the snow. Her hand burned with the small cuts the branch gave her, and as she got out of the snow, she smacked the branch angrily, not expecting it to come back and hit her on the face.

            Turning back defeatedly, she realized there was a split in the path. Choosing to go left, she walked down until she heard rushing water. Careful not to fall in, she reached the bank and put her wounded hand in the icy water to numb the pain. To make sure it was indeed a dead end, she walked across the bank until she felt something sticking out the ground. She pulled it out and identified it a long strong branch attached to a string. _Perfect_ She thought, wasting no time in breaking off the string. Taking one end of the branch she ran it across the area, feeling a rush satisfaction of no longer being _completely_ blind. However since she injured her dominant right hand she would have to get used to using her left.

            As she walked back to the crossroad she tapped something with her stick and bent down to touch the object. It was a square block of wood, however when Frisk knocked on it it sounded hollow. As she tugging on the top of the box, Frisk heard something shift in the snow, coming closer to her. Her heart appeared on her chest (surprising above Sans jacket) and she speedily abandoned the box, turning to where she thought she heard the sound. "Ahem, I'm over here!" The voice was irritated and definitely not where Frisk was facing. Impulses flooded her heart and with a quick dodge to the left, missed an attack that erupted from the ground. **_Left, right, up, right, back_**. Too focused with dodging the monster growled. "Why aren't you looking at my amazing hat? Forget it, you're no fun." The attacks stopped erupting from the snow and the monster left. Frisk breathed heavily with a small smile, she was getting better at dodging. **_Don't we make a great team?_** Frisk froze. She heard a voice but… it wasn't coming from any direction. "Who's there?" She called out, but no one answered. _Was that... no... It's just my imagination_ she convinced herself and turned back to the wooden box. Opening the top, she put her small hand inside. Her hand brushed something cool and metal and when she picked it up she realized it was a long sharp knife covered in dusty powder. She was about abandon the knife back into the box when a sudden impulse flooded her. Unlike the others this one was painful and insistent, wanting to crush her heart. **_Keep it._** _Why?_ She asked herself, clutching her hot pulsating heart.

            **_Trust me._**

            Wanting the impulse to stop, she obeyed, placing the dusty knife in her back pocket, next to the pocket with her flip phone. Frisk gasped as her heart dissolved into her chest. It was the same voice she heard with her battle with Toriel, she realized. Was is her soul talking to her, Frisk wondered, and why did it want her to keep the knife so badly? Shaking her head, she walked down the right path, not enjoying the weight of the knife.

            As her feet shuffled along the path she eventually heard a familiar voice. "SO SANS! WHEN'S THE HUMAN SHOWING UP? I WANT TO LOOK MY SUNDAY BEST... OR AT LEAST MY TUESDAY PRETTY-GOOD." _That must be Sans brother… Papyrus right?_ She hoped Sans wasn't lying when he said his brother was harmless, because it sounded like he was very close. Papyrus must have noticed her because he stopped what he was saying and silence followed. A long silence, which started to get as uncomfortable as the knife in her pocket so she decided to say something.

            "U- um, hi?" She waved her hand to greet the skeletons, tapping her stick on the ground out of nervousness.

            "SANS! OH MY GOD! IS THAT… THE HUMAN?!"

            "uhhhh… actually I think that's a rock." Frisk gave a crooked smile _he mistook me for a rock?_

            "OH."

            "hey, what's that in front of the rock?"

            "OH MY GOD!" She smiled, she like Papyrus's energy. He reminded her of John, except not even John shouted as loud as him. Frisk heard them begin to whisper, however Frisk could clearly hear them due to Papyrus's loud whisper voice.

            "(IS… IS THAT THE HUMAN?)." Frisk really hoped he wasn't referring to a tree or some other object that looked nothing like her.

            "(yes)"

            "OH MY GOD! SANS I FINALLY DID IT! UNDYNE WILL… I'M GONNA… I'LL BE SO… POPULAR! POPULAR! POPULAR!" He squealed, causing Frisk to smile slightly.

            "...'AHEM'. HUMAN! YOU SHALL NOT PASS THIS AREA! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL STOP YOU! I WILL THEN CAPTURE YOU! YOU WILL BE DELIVERED TO THE CAPITAL! THEN… THEN!" Frisk smile faded and another long pause went by before he continued.

            "...I'M NOT SURE WHAT HAPPENS NEXT. IN ANY CASE! CONTINUE… ONLY IF YOU DARE! NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH!" She listened as Papyrus's loud footsteps grew further away. Frisk wasn't so sure Papyrus was all that harmless if he was so determined to capture her. After he left, Frisk continued walking down the path until a voice caught her off guard.

            "well, that went well." Frisk turned sharply towards Sans and gave him a nervous smile.

            "I… I'm not all that sure." She answered, tapping her stick on the path again. She was worried about Papyrus sending her to the capital but she was more fearful of the voice she had heard before and the knife in her pocket. Sans noticed the fearful expression Frisk hid underneath her smile, he was very good at telling when people were faking. "don't sweat it, Frisk. i'll keep an eye socket out for ya." He smiled, tapping his 'eye'. Frisk's eyebrows knitted together.

            "I- its not your brother it's…" She stopped herself, words unable to come out of her mouth. He would probably just think she was crazy if she told him. She smiled brightly, "Nevermind, it's nothing."

            "are you sure kid?" He asked questioningly, his smile turning into a slight frown. He could tell by her expression that their was something very wrong, but he wouldn't point it out if she wasn't going to tell him. She nodded confidently, but his eyes narrowed in suspicion "alright, then." After Sans footsteps faded away she sighed, moving her hand to touch the knife in her pocket. She didn't want it, it made her head feel… fuzzy. Maybe it was just the cold. **_You need it._** The voice spoke again which made Frisk's skin crawl. It came from no direction like before. She shook her head and cried out "Why?" she didn't mean to talk out loud but she felt a large headache ripple through her skull, hurting her brain. **_Because if you leave it. I will stop helping you. How do you expect to get 'home' without me guiding your every step!_** Frisk put her hands on her head as she sunk to her knees. Her head felt like it was going to explode. "Fine… FINE" Frisk screamed into nothingness, her entire body trembling. Eventually the pain ebbed allowing Frisk to heave herself up.

            "S-s-s-something pet me… Something that isn't m-m-moving..." The blind dog ducked under the counter and Frisk began to hear rummaging. "I'm going to need some dog treats for this!" **_It would have been easier if you had killed him._** Frisk frowned _He's blind… like me, why would I kill him? **He tried to kill you didn't he?** Only if I had moved... **It's the thought that counts, isn't it?**_ Frisk shook her head and turned to follow the path. The voice in her head was becoming louder and more frightening, focused on killing. She hated it and wanted to abandon the knife so the voice would stop, but she needed the voice to help her dodge. She didn't know what she would do if the impulses disappeared. **_You would die and die and die, that's what._** _Go away already! **Watch what you say, partner.**_ Another painful headache rippled through her skull.

            "uh. kid, you alright?" The headache disappeared immediately as Sans spoke up. Frisk jumped, not expecting him to be right next to her. Wasn't he supposed to be with his brother? Frisk nodded towards Sans, missing his skeptical look. He went on to tell her about his brother's special fighting attack. She frowned when he mentioned to freeze at blue-attacks, it gave her another reason she needed the voice.

            "kid… are you listening?" Frisk snapped her wandering gaze back towards Sans voice and nodded with a fake smile.

            Sans sighed _something is wrong with this timeline._ As much as he tried to convince himself that her weirdness was nothing, just a slight change in the timeline, he couldn't. Frisk should have been identical to the first timeline and while her appearance was somewhat the same, her personality was drastically different. This Frisk was quiet, jumpy, and tentative which contrasted greatly with the first timeline, _his_ Frisk. The one thing that insured that something was wrong, was Frisk's eyes. In the first timeline, Frisk had beautiful almond eyes that held life and brightness within them, however in this timeline Frisk's eyes were a mixture of silver and brown and held nothing, not even the slightest emotion when they looked upon an object. It was only when he had talked to her that her eyes would light up. It frightened him to think that somehow, **she** was still inside of her.

            "Sorry… stop at blue attacks… right?" Sans nodded, but Frisk still looked towards him expectantly, as if she was still waiting for an answer. "Sans? Is that right?" She asked again after a few minutes of awkward silence.

            "er… yeah kid. i nodded, didn't you see?" She frowned and tightened her hand around her stick.

            "O- Oh, I missed it." She answered nervously, however Sans could tell she was lying… _again_. " _right_ … well… i'll be up ahead." He finally told her before sharply turning to walk in the opposite direction. He had a bad feeling in his ribcage, but he knew that interrogating her wouldn't do anything. She would probably lie again to hide whatever it was she was hiding. He looked ahead, his right pupil glowing a tint of blue. _Why can't I put the pieces together?_ During their talk he observed that her L.O.V.E was still at 1 which debunked his suspicion of **_her_** still controlling Frisk. _It doesn't make sense, what is wrong with her?_

            Frisk exhaled her held breath once Sans had left. She had slipped up again and now she was unsure if Sans knew or not. Even though he didn't want to capture her, she worried that he might tell his brother. His brother would probably capture her on the spot and take her to the capital to be killed. **_Don't lie, you're not afraid of dying, you're worried Sans will abandon you._** Frisk frowned and shook her head, her eyebrows knitting together in anger. _I'm not afraid of losing Sans_ _I hardly know him. **Maybe, but I can feel it. A part of you hates rejection, how cute.**_ Frisk gritted her teeth before turning back towards the path. _Go away. **With pleasure.**_ In an instant she felt her foot slip underneath her, causing her to fall backwards onto the frozen ice. She groaned as she felt dull pain eliminate from her spine. She laid on the ice, ignoring the cold stinging her back. Everything hurt, she was cold, and was starting to get hungry. Above it all she was _exhausted_. She just wanted to go home and rest, not to be stuck in… this hole. _I'm just going to rest… for awhile._ As she closed her eyes she could have sworn she heard **_laughing_** , that was until another voice rang loudly in her head. **_Chara please… Wake up! You are the future of humans and monsters…_** Frisk's eyes flung open _Was that you?_ she asked her murderous voice.

            **_. . .No._**

            Eventually, though disturbed by the new voice in her head, she pushed herself up. She groaned as her back still ached with pain and her body was still numb with cold despite the jacket. Talking a cold inhale of air, Frisk tightened her grip on her stick and took a step forward. She ended up gliding through the ice until she made it on the other side. She found the path and began trugging forward exhaustedly, feeling tears fall from her eyes. She expected the voice to taunt her for crying but it said nothing and remained completely quiet.

            "YOU'RE SO LAZY! YOU WERE NAPPING ALL NIGHT!" Frisk had been walking down the path for only a few minutes when she drew close to Papyrus voice. By now, her crying had stopped but her voice still continue to remain silent, which made her nervous.

            "i think that's called… sleeping." _Sans was here too? How did he get here so quick if he walked in the other direction?_

            "EXCUSES EXCU- AH!" Frisk jumped backwards holding her stick to her chest when she heard Papyrus yell in pain. After a few minutes Papyrus shouted "SANS! WHAT DID YOU DO?!"

            "uh, i think the human walked into your… invisible electric maze." _Wait did he just say an invisible electric maze **!** How am I not dead? _"OH, HUMAN I SEE YOU ARE EAGER TO TRY MY AMAZING PUZZLE! HOWEVER I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, NEED TO EXPLAIN IT FIRST!" Frisk nodded reluctantly, debating whether or not to run away, however her exhaustion glued her feet to the snow.

            "YOU SEE, IN ORDER TO STOP YOU… MY BROTHER AND I HAVE CREATED SOME PUZZLES! I THINK YOU WILL FIND THIS ONE… QUITE SHOCKING!" _No no no no_

            "FOR YOU SEE, THIS IS THE INVISIBLE ELECTRICITY MAZE! WHEN YOU TOUCH THE WALLS OF THIS MAZE, THIS ORB WILL ADMINISTER A HEARTY ZAP! SOUND LIKE FUN?"

            "N-"

            "BECAUSE!" Papyrus interrupted, "THE AMOUNT OF FUN YOU WILL PROBABLY HAVE, IS ACTUALLY RATHER SMALL I THINK. OK I'M DONE, YOU CAN GO AHEAD NOW." _Oh god_ Frisk expected an impulse but none came. _Why aren't you saying anything?_ The voice didn't respond, causing her face to lose any color left. Papyrus was trying to kill her! She tentatively tapped her branch forward and flinched when she heard a _ZAP._

            "SANS! WHAT DID YOU DO THIS TIME?!" She heard Papyrus yell while stomping his foot in the crunchy snow.

            "i think the human has to hold the orb."

            "OH, OKAY." She heard footsteps make their way towards her until they stopped right in front of her. "HOLD THIS PLEASE!" she unwillingly obeyed, grasping the smooth glass orb.

            "OKAY, TRY NOW!" Frisk's body shook with nervousness and fear. She tried to drop the orb, so that she could simply run across the maze, but the orb clung to her hand like a balloon with too much static electricity. She realized with impending doom that she was going to die. A lot. A wave of determination filled her heart, _but it was not her own._

            **Saving. . .**

            Frisk was too scared to question where the determination came from and instead took a tentative step forward. When people regard a hero taking a leap of faith, it usually ends with them being the victor, but in this moment Frisk realized that such a fate only happened in fiction. A ripple of painful electricity ran from her hand into her entire body in less than a second. Sans, from a far, watched with a shocked grimace as an ear splitting scream erupted from the child. He had expected her to walk on the accidental path of footsteps Papyrus had made through the maze but he was shocked to find that she didn't even notice them. Sans had also expected Papyrus to be overjoyed that his maze was working, but when he glanced over to him, saw his face full of horror.

            "S- SANS! WHY IS THE HUMAN SCREAMING LIKE THAT?!" Papyrus yelled in distraught, however not even his voice masked the child's screams. In a second, the child's soul shattered and she fell into the snow burnt and dead, the orb casted violently away. The last puzzle piece fell into Sans mind but he shook his head. _No. She isn't… how..._

            _How can she be blind? It's not possible!_

            **Game over. . .**

            "H- Human?" Papyrus whispered, his voice thick with emotion. "W- why.." Papyrus quickly left Sans frozen side and knelt beside Frisk. "Hu- human, why aren't you moving…" He lifted the child by her shoulders, only to have her head hanging limply away from him. Using a hand to lift her head Papyrus gasped. The child's face was streaked with tears, blood oozing from her nose and mouth. Orange tears ran down the skeletons face as he dropped the dead child. "O- oh my god…" His body shook as the realization of his sin crawled down his spine. Suddenly something collided into him, wrapping him in a tight embrace, "S- sans… I… I killed..." He didn't finish, his guilt wracked sobs overcame him, causing Sans to hug him tighter. "Shhh, Papyrus. I promise… it will be over soon..."

            "W- what?"

            **Loading. . .**

            Frisk respawned, her knees buckled in an instant and she fell into the snow like a lifeless doll, the orb, a few inches away from her, sparked madly. **_That was almost too fun to watch…_** The voice laughed in Frisk's mind. _Where were you when I needed you?_ She asked the voice angrily, not moving to get up. **_Calm down, you reloaded right? No harm done… get up!_** The voice commanded. An impulse flooded her heart to get up, but Frisk ignored it. She had reloaded but her head felt even fuzzier than before, not to mention her exhaustion seemed to be even worse.

            "H-HUMAN? ARE YOU ALRIGHT?" Frisk didn't answer, nor did she hear him, she was too focused on the mysterious new voice in her head. **_You cannot give up just yet… Chara stay determined!_**

            _I'm sorry... my name isn't Chara._ With that thought, her exhaustion gave way and she felt nothing.


	4. Time, Papyrus, and Spaghetti

            A dark abyss of nothing overcame Frisk, drowning her with silence and desensitization. She couldn't feel, hear, or smell anything in the unconscious state that had consumed her in its thirsty jaws. And yet, could it be considered a blessing, to be swaddled in the arms of darkness. To forget all pain, all hate, and let time resume without you?

            A small child made up of dripping black ooze, traversed his darkness in a daze. She was in an empty white room, her tracks marked and stained the floor with black ooze wherever she stepped. She had no destination, nowhere to be. She was a lost soul, bound against her will in the short, endless loop of time. Forced to dance while taunted by Time, the child stumbles, she falls, she gets up again. Over and over this process repeats, her determination to survive never faltering until now.

            She had fallen again just a few moments ago… or was it years ago. Time was so unstable in this room. He had watched her from the moment she had appeared, as a small helpless baby crawling about the room, leaving small black handprints on the floor. He was surprised when she had first appeared, he didn't think he would have another visitor in his prison of Time. So far, if he could remember correctly, only seven children had traversed his prison in the same dazed dance. All of which had perished in less than a month or two before crumpling on the ground and melting into the floor, back into main timeline to finish their loop. This room was a pocket in Space and Time, a place where anomaly's timelines go when they are stuck in a timeloop and now currently, held residence to him, the child, and a random flower than had sprouted in the corner. The child was dying... or in this case, her determination was. Children stuck in this room never die unless their determination dies in the physical world. Time and time again he's peeked into a child's timeline, and watched as they willingly gave up their soul to Asgore or gave up entirely, resulting in their timeline body to melt out of the room and into the main timeline. Their physical death was irreversible once they losted their determination and entered the main timeline... well except for the first child, the one exception. This current child, though, was different from all the other children, her timeline was chaotic and had lasted for years, her determination never faltering.

            Until now.

            He peeked into her timeline and was surprised to see nothing. He heard voices but saw no image. Was she blind in this timeline? He sighed, drawing himself out of the timeline. _This anomaly must have done a complete reset to result in such a large change in the timeline. Foolish child… you can't mess with Time that much… no wonder your determination is failing._ He paused, before drawing himself back into her timeline. He couldn't talk to her directly, but could try communicating to her using a slice of dialogue from the main timeline. Quickly he sifted through the timeline, before uncovering slivers of dialogue that would work the best.

            **_Chara please… Wake up! You are the future of humans and monsters…_**

            The dialogue was of Asgore's before his daughter Chara had died, and seemed the most befitting for this dying child. Her timeline body stopped melting for a moment but refused to get back up. After a few minutes it started to melt again. He huffed in frustration before using another piece of dialogue from Asgore. **_You cannot give up just yet… Chara stay determined!_** Finally, after he ejected himself out of her timeline, she got up and began stumbling around aimlessly again. He smiled as he watched her return to her dance. He wasn't doing this for her but for the family he had left behind in the Underground. Among the timelines he had seen in this child, Frisk, he had last seen a timeline that resulted with every monster being freed. Even if the child's timeline might never melt into the main timeline with a good ending, even if he himself would never be freed from the white room, he owed it to his family (whom would never remember him), the simple chance for a good ending.

            Nothing would make Gaster happier in his prison of hell.

            For Frisk, her unconsciousness felt only like a quick second, the days passing by her in only the blink of an eye. She opened her eyes slowly, and blinked them a few time. She felt herself swaddled in blankets as she laid upon her bed. She heard clanging and smelled food, but it didn't strike her as suspicious, she was too tired at the moment to acknowledge that the kitchen was not upstairs in the orphanage. Instead she laid on the bed and stretched her entire body, feeling the rush of satisfaction of a good stretch. After a few minutes of laying limp on the bed she realized that something was wrong. She ran her hand on what she was sleeping on and realized that it was not her bed but a… couch? She wasn't exactly sure but she knitted her eyebrows in confusion. The orphanage didn't have a couch expect one in the lobby… why...

            Wait…

            Her eyes lit up in fear when the memories flooded her sleep-slow mind. Where was she! She scrambled to get off the couch but her legs became entangled in the mass of fluffy blankets and she tripped and fell on the wooden floor. Groaning in pain, she realized that her right hand was wrapped in some sort of tight material. Before she could figure out what her hand was wrapped in, she heard a voice followed by footsteps that made her blood run cold.

            "SANS? IS THAT YOU?! YOU SHOULD BE PATROLIN-" The voice cut off when it grew close to her and she quivered in fear, not recognising the voice. She desperately tried to free herself from the blankets but somehow ended up more entangled. "H- HUMAN YOU ARE AWAKE! ARE YOU… ALRIGHT?" the skeleton asked her, slightly baffled as he watching her scramble on the floor. After getting herself unstuck, she backed up fearfully from the voice, eventually bumping into the couch she had fallen off. "Who are you? Where am I?" she asked frantically, her mind still not registering the voice. "AH! HUMAN DO NOT FEAR, THE GREAT PAPYRUS WOULD NEVER HARM A GUEST. YOU SEE, AFTER YOU… FELL ASLEEP... I BROUGHT YOU TO MY BROTHER'S AND MY HOUSE. NORMALLY CAPTURED HUMANS WOULD GO IN THE GARAGE BUT… I WANTED TO MAKE SURE YOU WERE WARM!" _What... fell asleep? What is he…_ The cogs inside her head began to turn but she continued to quiver from Papyrus. She didn't understand why she was at Papyrus's home and not dead, or in a cage. He wanted to bring her to Asgore, didn't he? Unfortunately before Frisk could ask a ding erupted from another room.

            "OH THE SPAGHETTI IS DONE, I WILL BE BACK HUMAN. DON'T GO ANYWHERE!" He rushed off with rapid thumping steps, allowing Frisk to calm down in his absence. Her heart melted into her chest as she took deep breaths. She brought her right hand up and touched the material that covered it. Was it a bandage? It was rougher than the bandage John had gave her but it felt generally the same. _He dressed my cuts_ She realized, and wondered the reason behind it. _If he does care about me, why did he make me walk through an electric maze_? She wondered. Sure Sans told her that Papyrus wasn't dangerous but after what had happened, she wasn't sure.

            _Where's my stick? I need to leave... soon._ She heaved herself up from the floor and turned around, feeling about the couch. Something soft ran across her fingers and she lifted it up. It was a warm soft blanket, probably the one that had entangled her. She took the blanket and fluffed it, hoping to hear her missing stick drop from it. _Nothing_. She continued to desperately rummage the lumpy couch until she heard a voice behind her. "HUMAN, WHAT ARE YOU DOING..?" She jumped and turned sharply towards Papyrus's voice. He smelled of tomato sauce which caused her mouth to water despite her supposed danger. She hadn't realise until her adrenaline had started to ween that she was _starving_ and her throat and mouth were desert dry. "S- sorry I… was looking for my stick. Do you know where it is?" She asked carefully, trying to ignore her hungry stomach.

            "STICK? YOU MEAN THE ONE YOU WERE TAPPING EVERYWHERE?" She quickly nodded in response, hopping he didn't know _why_ she was tapping everything.

            "AH… WAS IT IMPORTANT? SORRY HUMAN BUT I DIDN'T TAKE IT WITH ME." She sighed, there goes her 3rd walking stick.

            "H- HUMAN… HAVE YOU SWALLOWED A WHITE DOG? WHY IS YOUR STOMACH GROWLING?!" The panic in his voice made her smile with embarrassment _Why a white dog specifically?_

            "Sorry I'm... a little hungry-"

            "OH!" He interrupted, "YOU SHOULD HAVE SAID SO, WOULD YOU LIKE SOME SPAGHETTI? I THINK THIS BATCH IS ONE OF MY GREATEST!" He chirped cheerfully. She gave him a puzzled expression before nodding gratefully, her stomach speaking louder than the sirens going off in her head.

            "GREAT! THE TABLE IS OVER HERE." She followed behind Papyrus's footsteps and almost ran into the table in the process. "HERE WE ARE." He exclaimed as he placed the plate on the wooden surface with a clack. After he pulled her a chair, she hovered her hand around the food, accidentally getting sauce on her fingers. _Where's the fork?_ She panicked, feeling sweat dapple her forehead. "DON'T FEAR TINY HUMAN, PAPYRUS WILL HELP YOU FEED." She heard something move into the spaghetti and she knitted her eyebrows in confusion.

            "SAY AH!" He hummed and she obeyed, not understanding what he meant until she felt something disgusting enter her mouth. It tasted… indescribable with a hint of metal, but it had the texture of spaghetti. She flushed in embarrassment when she realised that he was feeding her like a baby. After swallowing the spaghetti without gagging she asked, "What are you doing?" _Egh, I can't get the taste off my tongue!_

            "I AM FEEDING YOU HUMAN, SINCE YOU CAN NOT SEE WHERE YOUR MOUTH IS." She flinched, her face growing pale. Frisk wasn't sure whether to be insulted that Papyrus didn't think she could eat, or upset that her secret was no longer a secret. She was a bit of both. Papyrus unaware of her distress, scooped up another fork full of spaghetti and repeated. "SAY AH!" Frisk frowned, the idea of eating more of that spaghetti made her nauseous but she was honestly too hungry to deny the food.

            "I do not need help eating." She answered bitterly

            "ARE YOU SURE? AS A CAPTURED GUEST I DON'T WANT YOU TO BE INCONVENIENCED..." Her frown twitched slightly into a smile despite her annoyance. _Is he… serious? Why?_

            "N- No I can eat by myself. Thank you though…" She smiled honestly, taking the fork from him. _That could have been worse, at least I didn't have to tell him myself_ The thought made her blood chill and her stomach churn uncomfortably, nothing sounded worse to her than admitting her blindness... because in the end, however they would treat her next would be her fault. If they teased her, it would be her fault. If they hated her, it would be her fault. If they spread nasty rumors about her, it would be her fault. If they avoided her, it would be her fault. It was always her fault.

            Unpleasant memories sliced through her mind like a twisted knife, sudden and unexpected. Her expression twisted as this cruel knife drove deeper and deeper into her skull. She tried to push it away, just as she had done so many times before. This was not the place or the time but the memories wouldn't end, or obey her commands. She felt the plague of Sadness grip her heart, before crushing it with its cruel grasp. She trembled as the memories continued, one by one, each one more painful to remember than the last, until all she could feel was fear.

            _Your mother never loved you… your eyes were too silver she would say._

            _Too silver~ Too silver~_

 

            She dropped the fork from her tingling hand and it hit the wooden ground with a clack.

            "H- HUMAN, ARE YOU… OKAY? WHY ARE YOU SHAKING… IS IT TOO COLD IN HERE… HELLO?" She didn't hear him but she knew what was happening _No… no no no no. Not here. Not now. STOP. It's fine... its fine…_ She held her head and rocked back and forth to calm down, but her throat only tightened with each rock. Suddenly she felt something soft take her shoulders and pull her in a tight embrace. Her head was pressed lightly against something hard and her body was wrapped in tight boney arms. She tensed for a moment, before relaxing into the hug. As she did, a soft hand rubbed her back in soothing circles. A few moments went by before Papyrus broke the silence. "MY BROTHER HAS THESE… PANIC ATTACKS AS WELL." Her head felt dizzy but she nodded through her tired daze. "HUMAN… I… I'M SORRY. I DID NOT MEAN TO BE THE CAUSE OF THIS MUCH DISTRESS." She shook her head, still unable to talk with her tightened throat. It wasn't his fault.

            Finally, after the inedible spaghetti had long gone cold, she felt her throat open up and her shivering cease. "I'm sorry." She spoke hoarsely, her eyes droping with mental exhaustion. "NONSENSE, THE GREAT PAPYRUS LOVES HUGS." She smiled feeling the tinge of sadness replace by a fuzzy warmness in her chest. Eventually Papyrus released his hug, "HUMAN IS THEIR ANYTHING YOU NEED?" He asked kindly as he got up. She was still hungry but she didn't dare eat anymore of his food, she felt like throwing up. "May I have some water, please." She asked shyly. "OH THAT'S RIGHT… HUMANS NEED WATER TO SUSTAIN THEIR PHYSICAL FORM, FASCINATING!" He turned sharply, his thumping footsteps moving a few feet away, followed by the sound of a sink… coming from the ceiling? She shook her head, this place might as well be a new planet.

            _Wait… why are you being so quiet?_ But no one answered. Frisk pushed herself off the chair and moved her hand to her back pocket. Her teeth clenched when she realized that her knife was missing. _Did I drop it with my stick… or did Papyrus and Sans take it? How can I even ask? 'Hey Papyrus have you seen my knife?'_ Her face flushed with panic, how was she supposed to survive without her voice? The answer: she wasn't. No matter how much she hated the murderous voice, it was the only thing keeping her from dying every two seconds.

            "HUMAN HERE IS YOUR WATER" Frisk jumped, not registering Papyrus footsteps until he was right in front of her. "T- thanks. My name is Frisk, by the way." she reached up her hands and felt her palms brush smooth glass. Gripping the cup, she immediately felt a bit water pass over her fingers and hit the ground. "S- sorry..." She apologised, just as more water spilled from the cup _Did he fill it all the way to the top?_ She was terrible at balancing.

            "IT'S ALRIGHT HUM- FRISK… NO HARM DONE. I'LL JUST GET SOMETHING TO CLEAN IT UP" She heard him leave, probably to get a towel. Guiltily, Frisk gulped down the water feeling a rush of satisfaction as it ceased the dryness and stinging of her dehydrated throat. Just as she placed the empty cup on the table she heard Papyrus return. "Let me clean it." She insisted with her guilty conscience.

            "NO, YOU ARE MY GUEST AND IT WOULD MAKE ME A BAD HOST IF I HAD YOU CLEAN UP MESSES." He argued, his voice losing altitude as he kneeled down to clean the spill. Before she could argue a tickle infested her nose and she sneezed loudly into her elbow. Her nose ran profusely and, out of habit, she used her elbow sleeve to clean the slimy liquid. Her nose was starting to get stuffy and she really hopped she wasn't getting sick, she didn't want to stay at Papyrus's house for long. "Why are you being... so nice to me?" She asked reluctantly ,

            "You wanted to send me to the capital… to be popular, right?" _You even went as far as to kill me._ She fidgeted with her hands awkwardly as silence manifested within the house. She sniffed back mucus before he answered solemnly, "Sans told me what they do to humans at the capitol, what _I_ would have to do. Heh… I always thought Undyne was joking..." His voice was unnaturally low for his high-pitched ardor, causing her eyebrows to knit together in concern. "HEH... I ALWAYS WANTED TO BE A ROYAL GUARD BUT… I DON'T THINK I COULD FORGIVE MYSELF IF _I_ KILLED SOMEONE. NO LIFE IS WORTH POPULARITY..." She paused in surprise, unsure of what to say. After confirming that his words were genuine she smiled. "Thank you." Maybe this was what Sans ment about his brother, and perhaps... maybe her death was an accident? Either way she decided to cast it under the bridge since he had saved her life and it didn't really matter anymore. "NO PROBLEM FRISK, SEEING AS I CAN'T KILL YOU… WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE FRIENDS?" She gave a crooked smiled and nodded. "REALLY!? WOWIE I CAN'T WAIT TO TELL SANS I'M FRIENDS WITH THE HUMAN!" Oh wait that's right, where was Sans? This was his house as well wasn't it? She decided to ask, since that question was the simplest to ask then all her other questions. If Papyrus only now figured out that the capital killed humans, he probably didn't know all that much, perhaps she would ask Sans instead. "SANS? OH! SINCE YOU WERE ASLEEP FOR A FEW DAYS HE OFFERED TO PATROL FOR ME SO I COULD WATCH YOU…. HEH… IT GOT A LITTLE SCARY THE FIRST DAY… YOU WOULDN'T STOP TWITCHING AND MUMBLING GIBBERISH..." Her eyes widened at this sudden information. She had never twitched in her sleep at the orphanage much less she talk in her sleep. She would know, the other kids in the room would probably have gotten mad at her if she had done such in the past.

            "A- ANYWAYS, SANS SHOULD BE AROUND THE WATERFALL RIGHT NOW… WHILE WE WAIT WOULD YOU LIKE TO GO ON A WALK? SANS NEVER WALKS HIS PET ROCK AND, AS USUAL, I HAVE TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY." She raised an eyebrow but nodded, she needed fresh air… even if it was cold. She sniffed again, fighting back the river of mucus. ¨GREAT, GIVE ME A MOMENT, THEN WE CAN GO." She nodded and heard his footsteps move away. Hopefully she could find another stick while she took a breather. In the meantime she decided to take this opportunity to identify her location. She moved away from the table and walked slowly, eventually bumping into a wall. She ran her left hand along the wall, since her right couldn't feel much bandaged, and explored the smooth plaster. To the right of her were stairs but Frisk wasn't ready to tackle more stairs, so she chose to keep looking around the living room. Moving to the left her leg bumped into something and she quickly thrusted out her hands to catch the object. Amazingly she caught the small table before it fell over, but sadly not the book, which slid off the table and hit the ground with a heavy clunk. _Oops._ She knelt down and felt around for the book, which turned out to be many books… how did all these books come off from the small table? After placing eleven books back on the table, she gave up and quickly turned another left. _Oh well, hopefully I didn't make too much of a mess…_

            She went several times around the room and discovered that their wasn't much furniture, just the table with the books, the couch and blankets (which tripped her again), a TV, a dining table, and a door, probably the exit out of the house judging by the cold touch. She was about to explore the kitchen when she heard footsteps coming down the stairs. ¨ALRIGHT, I FINALLY FOUND THE LEASH! LET'S GO!¨ She smiled, but quickly remembered something important. ¨What about the other monsters?" She asked.

            ¨WHAT OTHER MONS- OH RIGHT, I FORGOT ABOUT THAT…¨ He went silent for a moment before exclaiming excitedly. ¨AH I HAVE A GREAT IDEA! NYEH HEH HEH!" Footsteps thumped loudly away before returning a short time later. She felt something placed on her head, and assumed it was a small headband since it squeezed the sides of her temples. She reached up to touch the headband and felt two small identical spikes. _Devil horns?_ ¨THERE, NO ONE WILL BE ABLE TO TELL!" She hoped so, since she didn't have the voice to rely on anymore. Papyrus walked away before returning to her. "HERE WOULD YOU LIKE TO HOLD ROCKY WHILE I PUT ON THE LEASH?" She nodded, expecting the rock to be some sort of stone-monster-thing-that-could-talk, but when Papyrus delicately placed the 'pet' in her hand, she realized that it was just a rock. After Papyrus had somehow fastened the leash around the rock, he took the rock from her and placed it on the ground, dragging it towards the door. "LET'S GO!" She smiled, deciding not to tell Papyrus that rocks didn't need to be walked. His kind heart and his compassion for inanimate things filled her heart with determination.

            **Saving. . .**

            Cold air rushed through the door once it was opened, contorting Frisk's face into that of displeasure. "UH FRISK ARE YOU COMING?" She nodded quickly and carefully went through the door, immediately regretting her decision. If she thought last time was cold, it was ridiculous today. "DO YOU... NEED A JACKET?" Papyrus inquired after observing her shock to the temperature and chattering of teeth. She nodded violently, never nodding as fiercely in her lifetime. After a short delay, to which Frisk had to watch the stone (She was very glad a stone couldn't move), Papyrus returned with a jacket and helped her put it on.

            "MY BROTHER HAS A TON OF THESE JACKETS…" He began as they walked down the crunchy path, Frisk smiling as the pleasant warmness incubated the core of her frozen being. She stumbled a few time and eventually held Papyrus's hand as her guild. His hand wasn't boney but soft and felt like a mitten, "ALWAYS BLUE... I DON'T QUITE UNDERSTAND WHY HE LOVES THE COLOR SO MUCH, ORANGE IS OBVIOUSLY BETTER..." Frisk nodded, unconsciously starting to tune out his voice as she busied herself with worried thoughts. She still had no idea how to find her knife or leave the Underground for that matter. When she had explored the living room she hadn't found her knife or her phone, just a sock and some dust bunnies. She sighed, her smile faltering as she pondered where the knife could be. Maybe she could ask Papyrus to take her back to electric maze to find it? It soundly like a good idea but she realized that Papyrus would probably question her if she pulled out a knife from the snow. Plus if she was asleep for days it might be encased in snow and ice… and what if the electric maze was far away? She felt panic return to her for a moment, but before it could overcome her, she took a deep breath of air and exhaled cold wisps of swirling vapor. "AND THEN I TOLD HIM TO PICK UP HIS SOCK BUT HE ONLY… ONLY… … FRISK IS SOMETHING WRONG? YOU LOOK ANXIOUS." Frisk smiled ruefully, she was shocked to find herself homesick, She would think (and perhaps others as well) that she would be glad to leave the orphanage. To leave her memories behind and start new ones with Toriel… or even Papyrus… but… staying here was wrong. Something in her soul hummed with the longing of the surface. She felt trapped here and with the heavy weight of despair and hopelessness tugging down her heart. It was a strange feeling, which she was usually so good at pushing away, but here... … _do monsters here feel the sam_ e _?_

            "FRISK?" She hadn't notice that Papyrus had stopped walking, but when she had she snapped out of her daze and heard the concern in his voice.

            "I'm alright." She smiled, but Papyrus didn't budge. "HUMAN, YOU CAN TRUST ME. I PROMISE I WON'T HURT YOU." She shook her head immediately.

            "No, no that's not it… I'm not afraid of you. I'm worried I won't be able to leave… I don't even know if there's a way out anymore. Sans told me there was a way, that I could go home, but… if there truly is a way to leave… then why are you and other monsters still here?" Papyrus went silent, each quiet second heavied her heart with hopelessness. "WE… CAN'T LEAVE, WE ARE TRAPPED HERE BY A MAGICAL SEAL, CALLED THE BARRIER. ANYTHING CAN ENTER THROUGH IT, BUT NOTHING CAN EXIT." She frowned immediately, but before her hope could shatter, he continued. "... EXPECT SOMEONE WITH A POWERFUL SOUL... LIKE YOU." He chirped, making Frisk smile doubtfully, but the revelation was reassuring none of the less. "THAT'S WHY KING ASGORE WANTS TO ACQUIRE A HUMAN. HE WANTS TO OPEN THE BARRIER WITH SOUL POWER. THEN US MONSTERS CAN RETURN TO THE SURFACE!" Suddenly the pieces clicked. The monsters didn't kill her because of their hatred for humans, they just wanted to be free like her, and she was the key to that freedom. Their hopes rested upon her death. Her will to live, her determination, never seemed more selfish. Papyrus quickly noticed her conflicted expression, and exclaimed nervously, "B- BUT WE WILL FIND ANOTHER WAY TO GET OUT. THE BARRIER IS PAST THE KING'S CASTLE BUT THE KING IS A BIG FUZZY PUSH OVER, EVERYONE LOVES THAT GUY, I'M CERTAIN IF YOU JUST SAY, 'EXCUSE ME, MR DREEMURR… CAN I PLEASE GO HOME?' HE'LL GUIDE YOU RIGHT TO THE BARRIER HIMSELF!" She pulled a halfhearted smile, but she didn't think that Asgore would let her off that easy. Toriel seemed pretty convinced that Asgore would kill her. They both continued down the snowy path in silence, Rocky trailing behind Papyrus. Eventually, after a few minutes, she began to smell pine trees accompanied by the sound of rushing water.

            "Papyrus, do you see any sticks on the ground?" Frisk asked, causing Papyrus to stop. She hoped to be able to find a new walking stick here, that way she could walk on her own. "UM... YES, THERE ARE MANY STICK OVER THERE… AND A WHITE STICK. WHY?" He asked, his voice practically dripping with bewilderment.

            "I need a new walking stick to… 'see' in a sort of way…"

            "YOU USE STICKS TO SEE?!" He interrupted in with utter dramatic shock.

            "Uh, kind of, I just use… it…" She trailed off when Papyrus suddenly released her hand and ran from her with rapid crunching steps. "Papyrus?" She called out, feeling an edge of panic, until she heard rapid footsteps growing closer. "Papyrus is that- OOF" She felt something run into her, knocking her over and causing her to fall over into the snow.

            "Ow... Papyrus?" She questioned as she pushed herself up, brushing the snow off her cold legs.

            "Yo, I'm sorry! I wasn't paying attention, heh it's usually me who falls over. I'd offer you a hand, but… I don't really have one." This voice was not Papyrus's, and instead sounded like a child's. "I heard Undyne was patrolling around here for a human and I rush over to... um... you dropped your horns." _So much for the disguise, who is this? Is he a monster?_ "O- oh." she answered timidly with a cold sweat as she bent down to feel around for the horns.

            "Um… they're behind you."

            "Oh." She twisted herself around and felt around, but only touched cold snow. After a two awkward minutes, she finally found the horns and placed them back on her head, not that they did any use now.

            "Are you related to Doggo?" He inquired once she had stood up. She knitted her eyebrows in confusion, not just because she didn't know who Doggo was but because she didn't understand why this monster wasn't attacking her, perhaps only some monsters were hostile?

            "No, why?" She asked, wondering where Papyrus had run off too and, more importantly, when he was coming back.

            "Well, you have the same… shifty eye thing going… _anyways,_ my name is Monster Kid or just Kid for short. Did you just move into Snowdin I don't think I've see you here before." He observed, looking at her closely.

            "Um, I'm Frisk. I'm just staying here for a bit." She answered, unsure of how much to tell Kid. He seemed alright but, out of old habit, decided to not to tell him everything.

            "Oh did you come from the Hotlands? That explains why you're shivering so much. Not used to the cold yet?" She smiled and shook her head, deciding to just go with it.

            "Well do wanna help look for Undyne with me?" He offered. Wind whistled past her ear as she looked towards him with a puzzled expression. Snowflakes dappled her hair, chilling her enough for her teeth to start chattering lightly.

            "Who Undyne?" She asked, earning a horrified gasp from Kid, who didn't seem too bothered by the snow.

            "You don't know who Undyne is? She just the coolest Royal Guard _EVER_!" He stressed. Frisk frowned and delicately declined the offer, telling him that she was waiting for a friend. She did _not_ want to run into a Royal Guard, seeing as they probably worked for Asgore.

            "Well suit yourself. See you later!" With that Kid ran off, followed by a loud crunch.

            "Um, are you ok?" Frisk asked, since the crunch was too loud to be a regular footstep.

            "Fine, just tripped! Bye!"

            "Bye." After his footsteps faded away Frisk sighed with worry. _Where is Papyrus? Did I scare him off or something?_ The thought didn't make sense, but hurt anyways. She had done something like that before.

            "Papyrus!" She called out, but no one came. She sighed, feeling a sharper edge of worry. _Which way was his house… shoot, I should have asked Kid for help!_ She reprimanded herself. She could be wandering forever!

            "FRISK I FOUND THE PERFECT STICK! IT'S STRONG AND JUST YOUR SIZE!" A familiar voice called out, filling Frisk with a ridiculous amount of relief. She couldn't remember ever smiling as brightly as she had right at that moment. Papyrus made his way towards her, eventually stopping in front of her. "I APOLOGISE FOR LEAVING YOU, I FOUND THE PERFECT STICK BUT A WHITE DOG SNATCHED IT AWAY. SO NATURALLY I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, CHASED HIM DOWN TO RETRIEVE THE STICK." A soft glove took Frisk's hand and placed a smooth object in her palm. _Wait… no way._ She move her hand up and down the 'stick' and beamed profusely, even brighter than earlier. _My cane!_ She had no idea how her cane had gotten here but she didn't question it.

            "Thank you! Thank you so much Papyrus!" She squealed elatedly, as she tapped her cane on the ground, swishing it back and forth in familiar motions. This was _so_ much better than a stick.

            "NO PROBLEM, FRISK. CAN YOU SEE MY DEVILISHLY HANDSOME FACE NOW?" Frisk laughed slightly, shivering a bit. The wind had picked up, as well as the snow.

            "That's not how it works. My cane is like… and extension of my arm. I can feel things around me and avoid them." She explained, while walking around the area. Moving out of the way of the way of anything she tapped.

            "WOWIE THAT'S AMAZING!" Papyrus chirped, which surprised her for a moment. She didn't really think anyone would find that cool. Well, other than John. Most people just viewed her with it as pitiful or weak. Even some of the nurses felt that way.

            "Would you like to try?" She offered, extending out her cane, accidentally tapping his chest.

            "REALLY?! THANK'S HUMAN." As he bent down to take the cane, curiosity got the best of her. _What does his face look like?_ Once he took the cane, she reached up and grasped his head with her two hands. "AH! IT WAS A TRAP!" He exclaimed, causing her to laugh.

            After telling Papyrus what she was doing, he beamed happily. "OH, YOU JUST WANT TO SEE MY FACE? GO AHEAD!" He smiled as she moved her hands around. He had a long head, smooth and round at the top but… kind of rectangular near the bottom. His jaw had a large hole in the back and his exposed teeth were flat and squared. He was in fact a skeleton. When she moved her hand back to the front of his face, she shuddered when she realized that he had no eyes. Ironically, it disturbed her.

            "ARE YOU DONE, FRISK?" He asked, once she had removed her hands. She nodded, happy to have some understanding of what he looked like.

            "ALRIGHT THEN… HOW DOES THIS MAGICAL STICK WORK?" He asked once he stood back up, tapping the snow with her cane.

            "Close your eyes and walk forward… also move the stick in an ark. When you tap something, try to avoid bumping into it." She explained, shivering from the cold. Her heat was slowly weaning from the jacket. Papyrus noticed this and promptly removed his scarf.

            "ALRIGHT SOUNDS EASY ENOUGH FOR THE GREAT PAPYRUS. COULD YOU HOLD ONTO THIS FOR ME?" She nodded, feeling a leash placed in her left hand, as well as a warm cloth wrapped around her neck. She smiled gratefully, moving her bandaged hand to hold the soft scarf in place, as the wind blew at it, causing it to lick and tickle her cheeks. She heard footsteps and assumed Papyrus had started walking, after a few minutes he called out.

            "HEH… THIS IS A TAD HARDER THAN I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE… BUT I WILL NOT BE SO EASILY DEFEATED, NYEH HEH HEH!" Less than a minute later she a loud crunch, which reminded her of the same noise when Kid fell over. Her eyes shadowed with concern, "Papyrus are you ok?" She called out, hearing something shift loudly in the snow.

            "AH… I'M FINE! THE SNOW TRIPPED ME."

            "Try lifting your feet higher." She advised, understanding the frustration in his voice. The snow was lumpy and hard to maneuver in. Frisk still wasn't used to it, but the snow reminded her of tall grass and the grass clumps from the courtyard, so it was fairly easy to adapt. It made her legs a tad sore (from lifting them up so high) but her legs were starting to get stronger… or numb. Most likely her legs were just numb.

            Papyrus continued, occasionally bumping into a tree or falling over, even falling into the river once. She was surprised by how determined he was to learn how to 'see' like her. It ended up like a game, where Frisk was the teacher and Papyrus, her learning pupil. He ended up running into similar problems she did when learned to walk; like dodging branches or avoiding getting the cane stuck. These call backs to the past, brought back her anxiety for a moment but luckily she was able to swallow it without Papyrus noticing. Eventually, as Papyrus got a bit better, they both took turns competing for how far they could go without stumbling at all. Frisk usually won, but even though Papyrus was slightly bitter with each loss, he applauded her with his pure-hearted complements making her heart glow with warmth. They both ended up losing track of time until the sun was starting to decline from the sky. Frisk was _very_ cold, her arms and legs were both numb, but didn't want to end the fun she was having with Papyrus. However the snow and wind started to pick up violently in the last couple of minutes, causing each snowflake to rake painfully across her exposed skin.

            "FRISK… I THINK A BLIZZARD MIGHT BE DEVELOPING. WE SHOULD LEAVE." She nodded with chattering teeth as she hugging herself tightly around her body. Upon receiving her cane back from Papyrus, she tried to follow him but fell behind. With the wind whistling loudly in her ears she couldn't hear his footsteps anymore, causing her to panic and call out his name.

            "YES? WHAT'S WRONG?" His voice called out above the sound of the wind.

            "I can't hear your footsteps!" She cried out, hoping her voice didn't mix or drown with the blizzard's. She didn't hear a response and started to worry that he didn't hear her, until she felt someone pick her up. "Papyrus!" She shrieked, unable to identify who this was until she heard his voice right above her head. "IT'S ALRIGHT, I'M JUST CARRYING YOU." She sighed in relief, glad that is wasn't Undyne or some other Royal Guard member. She didn't relax though, since snowflakes constantly bombarded her back and started to sting, the wind didn't help either. Her stuffy nose started to run again and she desperately hoped it wouldn't get on Papyrus's clothes.

            Papyrus's scarf loosened around her neck, but before Frisk could react, the wind ripped it greedily from her sending the scarf far from her grasp. "W- wait, Stop! The wind took your scarf!" She cried out, struggling out of his grasp so she could find it. She hated losing things that didn't belong to her. Papyrus held her tighter and shook his head. "I CAN GET IT LATER. TO THE HOUSE WE GO!" She stopped struggling and frowned, feeling guilty but not enough to disobey and search for it. She probably wouldn't find it anyways. After a few minutes of cold and wind, she heard a click and both entered the warm house.

            After Papyrus shut the door he continued to carry her a few steps before plopping her down onto something soft. She ran her hand along what she was placed on and identified it as the couch. "FRISK, I HAVE PLACED YOUR CANE ON THE TABLE. WOULD YOU LIKE SOME HOT CHOCOLATE?" He offered, after taking off her headband and wrapping her in several layers of blankets. She didn't fight back the return of the blankets and instead, allowed herself to become a living blanket caterpillar. She nodded reluctantly and thanked him as he walked away. "UNDYNE SHOWED ME HOW TO MAKE SOME YESTERDAY AT HER HOUSE. WE USED THE WHOLE CAN BUT I BOUGHT MORE." _I hope his hot chocolate tastes better than his spaghetti_ despite the fear of his cooking, Frisk was very grateful to Papyrus whom had treated her like an honored guest. She didn't know why though, he gained nothing by helping her, yet he treated her with the same hospitality Toriel had, except Papyrus had fed her spaghetti rather than butterscotch pie. When Papyrus had returned with the hot chocolate, she wormed her arms out of the chrysalis of blankets and gripped the warm cup, the blankets falling off as sipped the liquid. Even though she burned her tongue, the hot chocolate tasted great. "IS IT GOOD?" Papyrus asked hopefully, earning a nod. "GREAT I AM VERY GLAD YOU LIKE IT." She paused before taking another sip of the rich drink. "Do you… mind if I stay the night?" She asked carefully, hoping he would say yes since she feared the blizzard would cause many deaths. "I promise to leave tomorrow." She added. "IF… YOU NEED A NEW HOME, I WOULD BE GLAD TO HAVE YOU STAY HERE FOR AS LONG AS YOU NEED. I'M SURE SANS WOULDN'T MIND… OR CARE FOR THAT MATTER." Her eyes widened at his generous offer, " _Why?"_ She thought, unintentionally speaking out loud. "OH… WELL SANS IS TOO LAZY TO REALLY CARE IF SOMEONE-" She shook her head "N- no. I mean, wouldn't I be a burden to you? I can't really do anything to help you and... what if you get in trouble for helping me?" She clutched the cup tighter, feeling the warmth start to burn her hands, but she didn't move them and allowed her palms to burn. "YOU ARE NOT A BURDEN, YOU ARE MY FRIEND AND… WELL IF UNDYNE KNEW SHE DIDN'T HAVE TO KILL YOU, I'M SURE SHE WOULDN'T. I WILL TELL HER TOMORROW AND YOU WILL BE SAFE." He promised but her eyes shadowed with worry. She knew that it wasn't going to be that simple and she didn't want Papyrus to get hurt. _As soon as I get my knife back, I'm leaving, storm or no_ she promised herself. She decided to drop the conversation. Shifting her burned hands, she drew the cup up and sipped the cooling chocolate "Papyrus, how did all the monsters get stuck down here?" She asked with honest curiosity. "OH! I HAVE A BOOK DISCUSSING JUST THAT! WOULD YOU LIKE TO HEAR IT?" She nodded with a smile.

            **Saving. . .**

            "ALRIGHT, I'LL BE RIGHT BACK!" He sat up from the couch and walk away, seconds later she heard him enter a door and close it behind him. As he searched for the book, Frisk waited patiently on the couch, sipping her almost cold drink. A few moments later she heard the front door slammed open, causing her to jump and drop the cup in the process. "P- Papyrus, Is that you? How did you..." She yelped in fear as she felt herself suddenly levitated from the couch, the blankets easily falling off her. Before she could find out what was going on she was forceful thrown and slammed painfully against a wall.

            "What did you do to my brother, **Chara?** "


	5. Timeline #1, love, and LOVE.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a backstory.

            "It's time to wake up, my child." A voice cooed in Frisk's ear, while affectionately brushing her hand through the brunette hair. The little brunette grumbled slightly, recoiling from her mother's touch to dig herself deeper into the blankets that swaddled her with warmth and comfort. Above Frisk, through the mess of blankets, erupted an amused chuckle. "I guess I will need Undyne's help today…" The voice sighed cheekily, walking away with soft steps. In response to this threat, the child's eyes shot open and she quickly kicked off the blankets, casting them onto the floor in a messy pile. She twisted her small body around and threw herself off the bed, her once sleepy eyes were wide and fearful. "Wait... wait, I'm up! Don't…" She didn't finish her plea, and instead tripped clumsily over the abandoned blankets. She felt so betrayed by both her clumsy feet and the blankets. Luckily Frisk's fall was broken by the same object that had tripped her, however that didn't stop the loud thump of her fall and the sharp crack of her arm.

            Frisk's mother turned back to her sharply, allowing a horrified gasp escape her lips. She had brought her paws up and covered her mouth before rushing to her side. "Oh! Oh my god.. did your arm...!¨ She exclaimed worriedly, but the child quickly shook her head whilst pushing herself up. Her knee´s ached a bit but other than that, Frisk was fine. Her arm had only cracked because she hadn't stretched yet. Her mother stopped in front of her and knelt down, ¨I´m fine.¨ The child answered calmly as her goat-mom began surveying her arm for any damages. Despite the brunette's reassurance, the mother wrapped her arms around the child in a soft, protective hug. Soon the child's throbbing knees were healed and her tiredness, dissolved into nothingness. Eventually the warm arms around her uncoiled and her mother stood back up. "I'm very sorry my child, are you alright?" The child nodded, allowing her mother to sigh in relief. "Please do not to run in the house... I do not want you to hurt yourself. Now come, breakfast is about done." The child nodded and beamed as her mother rubbed her head affectionately again. This child was used to her mother's protectiveness, since she understood that it was never to protect her image, but for Frisk's wellbeing. Unlike her birth mother, her new mom truly loved and cared about her, the brunette couldn't ask for more. She doubted her old mother would even notice the absence of her imperfect rose, her mind was always too focused on her red wine. Gripping her mother's soft, snow-white paw, they both walked out of the room and into the small hallway.

            **(Both were unaware of a ghastly child following behind them, her body was invisible to their eyes, so it didn't really matter if they turned around. They wouldn't see her. Her face was stoic and bored, as if she was watching a boring movie play scenes she's already seen.)**

            "HOTTER, HOTTER PAPYRUS! YOU NEED TO CAPTURE THE SMOKEY FLAVOR!" A familiar voice screamed, her strong voice echoing in the hallway. Frisk's eyebrows knitted together with concern, the air smelled a bit like smoke, yet when Frisk looked around she saw no evidence of a fire. "I'M TRYING UNDYNE BUT THE DIAL WON'T GO ANY FURTHER!" Her mother's hand flinched and quickly let go of hers. "Wait! What are you two doing?" Her mother exclaimed, walking past her to peer around the corner. _Wait is Undyne cooking with Papyrus? No wonder the hallway smelled like smoke_. Her mother froze when she looked out the hallway, her stone body tensing with every second. ¨OH HI TORIEL¨ Papyrus´s voice chirped above the shrill of the fire alarm, however Toriel didn't return the greeting. ¨Undyne turn down the heat!¨ She cried out, her feet breaking from their frozen spot and moving into the kitchen. The child ran, despite the last incident, to the end of the hallway and peered out. Her head turned towards the kitchen and her eyes, once filled with utter curiosity, morphed into shock and the kitchen was not on fire, however the pan on the stove was engulfed in a ring of fire which caught the child's attention like a lantern to a moth. However, once Toriel made it to the dial, the flame retreated and died into a small flicker under the pan. Her mother carefully peered above the pan and confirmed ¨It's burned."

            "mornin', frisk." She turned her attention away from the scene, and walked towards Sans. He sat calmly on the table drinking a bottle of ketchup with a newspaper in front of him, he seemed indifferent to the fire Undyne and Papyrus had caused a few seconds ago. He's boney hand, which lacked the thick protective cover of his white gloves, patted the unoccupied chair next to him. Frisk took up the seat and greeted him with her warm smile, "Morning... Where's Alphys?" Frisk noticed the reptile was missing from her usual chair next to Undyne's. When the barrier broke, the two had started dating and have become an OTP… Frisk didn't truly understand what that meant, but that's what Alphys always called her relationship with Undyne. After a few months they both moved into a separate apartment.

            Even though Frisk was sad she couldn't see them as often, she was still happy for them, especially for Alphys who had never been so confident and cheerful in her life. They still came for meals though, since neither of them could cook anything more complicated than packaged ramen. They both in the past had offered to help Toriel cook, and while Toriel had accepted Alphys´s help, she had politely refused Undyne's. Frisk wasn't exactly sure why Toriel would accept Undyne´s help now. She grieved over the burned pancakes as Toriel dumped them in the trash. Sans paused to shrug and continued to chug the ketchup until the glass bottle was empty. Watching this made her nauseous, so she turned her gaze to Undyne, who was smiling apologetically as Toriel made a new batch of pancakes. As Papyrus continued to watch Toriel, Undyne poured herself a glass of milk. After putting the jug of milk back in the fridge, she caught Frisk's eye and smiled brightly, turning to walk towards her. Frisk shut her eyes tightly as she neared, her shoulders rising as she braced herself for Undyne's noogie, but none came. "Fuhuhuhu, relax punk, mornin' noogies come after breakfast." She smiled sinisterly as she lightly ruffled her hair, making it messier. Frisk heard Sans chuckle beside her, his eyes lighting up just as they always do right before he says a pun. "wow frisk, your hair sure is-" Feeling an edge of panic and dread, Frisk interrupted the moment by repeating her question, "Undyne! Where's Alphys?" She asked forcefully to avoid Sans finishing with an insufferable, while shamefully always made her smile, pun.

            Undyne raised an eyebrow while she sipped her milk, her face was scrunched in disgust, probably because the milk wasn't warm as she liked it. Popping noises sounded off in the kitchen as Toriel allowed Papyrus to pour pancake batter into the pan. Undyne placed the cup onto the table and quickly wiped the milk mustache off before answering, "Alphys was called to work today... something about mislabeled test tubes." Frisk frowned with disappointed. "Will she still be able to come to the beach?" Frisk asked hopefully but Undyne frowned and shook her head. "Doesn't look like it." She appeared frustrated too, but that didn't surprise Frisk, she probably wanted Alphys to come. "Fuh, I'll have to surf by myself… unless…" Her smile, and pearly yellow fangs, turned towards Frisk with genuine hope, however reluctance glazed over Frisk's eyes.

            She loved learning new things with Undyne, since Undyne was always so energetic, but the idea of heavy waves crashing upon Frisk's head and suffocating her to death didn't quite appeal to her, but the hopefulness in Undyne's smile was something Frisk had a hard time saying no to. Actually, she had a hard time saying no to _anyone_ and that often got her sick with Papyrus's cooking. Luckily, before Frisk could give in, Undyne shook her head, "Just kidding, squirt, Toriel would have my head if anything happened to you." Frisk smiled sheepishly and turned her head towards Sans. He sat lazily, his back slouched forward with his head resting on one hand as he gazed down at his newspaper. His pencil tapped the table quickly and, by his expression, was thinking deeply about something. With nothing else to talk about with Undyne, Frisk peeked at Sans newspaper to see what he was reading. It looked like… a word scramble.

            Some of the words were already unscrambled, however he seemed to be stuck on one word. Frisk couldn't see his face very well but he appeared frustrated. "I thought word scrambles were easy for you." Frisk teased after a few minutes, trying to break the uneasy aura surrounding Sans. Sans turned to look at her cheeky grin. His face seemed anxious, for a moment, and Frisk could have sworn his left eye was bluer than normal. However, in the time it took Frisk to blink, Sans was back to his normal smiling self, "i said junior jumble was easy… and humans have a slightly bigger vocabulary than monsters." He shrugged, turning his head back to the word scramble. Gripping his pencil tightly he x'ed out the word he was stuck on. 'ocgideen' frisk noticed, wondering what the letters spelt that Sans couldn't figure out.

            **("My favorite word…")**

            "Here we have two nerds in their natural habitat, preying on what appears to be a word scramble. Fascinating, maybe they might go for the crossword puzzle next." Undyne commentated, placing her empty cup on the table. Her words weren't hostile but instead a mixture of boredom and playful jesting. "You don't like word scrambles, Undyne?" Frisk asked curiously. Undyne shook her head, "Word scrambles are boooooring, the time you spend on puzzles can be used training or doing something actually productive."

            "I AGREE WITH UNDYNE… AT LEAST IN REGARDS TO WORD SCRAMBLES." Papyrus spoke up from the kitchen. The air smelled delicious, with wafts of sugar and eggs meeting Frisks nose. She really hoped breakfast would be done soon. "don't worry kid, undyne's just _salty_ that she can't beat a word scramble." _Uh oh._

            "What!?" the _fish_ warrior screeched, her eyes blasting small blue spears as she glaring at the big boned skeleton (none of the spears actually doing any damage). Sans smile brightened but he didn't dare make eye contact with her. Frisk smiled when she caught Undyne´s expression, she was furious, her teeth bared like at any second she would rip the flesh off Sans... if he had any. Instead of her usual direct attack, Undyne stretched over the table and snatched the word scramble Sans was half-heartedly focused on. ¨Let me see that!" The sides of the newspaper crumpled in her fists as she stared at the scrambled words. Suddenly, she pulled tightly on both ends of the newspaper, causing it to slowly rip in half. Sans didn't make any move to save his word scramble, and instead started to nap on the table. Disappointed with Sans' reaction, Undyne quickly ripped up the newspaper, morphing it into a small ball. Once the ball was tight and compact she threw it harshly at Sans' head. It bounced off, not even waking the snoring skeleton. Frisk laughed as Undyne huffed angrily, dissatisfied with her revenge.

            Luckily before Undyne could hurl heavier ammo at Sans, Papyrus came bounding out the kitchen with two plates piled on with food. Toriel followed after him carrying five empty plates and silverware, which she passed out between them. After Papyrus had placed the food, one plate of pancakes and the other of eggs, he glared at Sans who was sleeping deeply on the table. He took the other empty seat next to Sans and shook his shoulder, "SANS! WAKE UP YOU LAZY BONES! YOU NEED TO EAT OR YOU WILL HAVE NO ENERGY FOR THE BEACH!" Sans didn't stir, and instead mumbled, "im gettin' energy by sleeping..."

            "Don't worry Pap, I'll get him to wake up." Undyne smiled evilly, materializing a small spear within her hand. Before Undyne could fling the spear, or have Papyrus protest, Toriel spoke up patiently. "Sans, please eat your breakfast. I do not want you to do be hungry when we are at the beach."

            "ok." Just like that Sans perked up, and with his fork, speared a pancake from the pile and began to eat. "WHAT?! HOW IS IT YOU LISTEN TO HER BUT NOT THE GREAT PAPYRUS, YOUR BROTHER?!"

            "i do listen to you, pap."

            "LIES! JUST YESTERDAY I TOLD YOU TO PICK UP YOUR SOCK FROM THE LIVING ROOM AND IT'S STILL THERE!" Frisk twisted her torso around to confirm that the sock was still on the floor. She smiled when she noticed a bunch of multicolored sticky notes attached to it. Turning back to the table, Frisk noticed Undyne already finishing her first pancake and eyeing the food for a second's. Aware of Undyne huge appetite, Frisk quickly claimed a pancake and some eggs before they all disappeared.

            "i did pick it up." Sans defended himself, while chewing on a piece of pancake. Frisk took her fork but hesitated with the butter knife beside her plate. She blinked once and chose not to use it.

            **("You won't have a choice for long… time is running out")**

            "YOU PICKED IT UP AND PLACED IT BACK ON THE FLOOR."

            "yep. **eggs** actly what you asked." Toriel snickered at his egg pun but Undyne groaned loudly and Papyrus looked frustrated. Frisk smiled, these two brothers could argue forever about Sans' sock, but surprisingly Papyrus gave up first. "FINE! BUT DON'T SAY I DIDN'T WARN YOU WHEN YOU GET CRUSHED BY YOUR OWN AVALANCHE OF ABANDON SOCKS." Papyrus huffed as he drowned his pancake in syrup. It was humorous to Frisk, that both brothers shared an addiction to a condiment. For Sans it was ketchup, but for Papyrus it was syrup.

            "Could I have some, Papyrus?" Frisk laughed as Papyrus aggressively drenching his eggs with syrup. "wh-OH SORRY!" He quickly flipped the syrup upright, accidentally spilling a bit of syrup on the table, and handed her the half-full sticky bottle. After adding her fill of syrup she passed the bottle to Undyne, but she shook her head. "I hate sugar..." she reminded Frisk, passing the bottle to Toriel who smiled and gladly took the bottle. Sans laughed. "she's lying, I saw her take the kid's slice of the butterscotch pie." Frisk eyes widened at this sudden announcement, and quickly turned to glare at Undyne, remembering her disappointment when she found her pie slice missing from the fridge. Frisk had assumed that Papyrus had eaten her pie, since he had a craving for sugar, so she didn't have the heart to shun him for it, but judging by Papyrus's dramatic gasp, it couldn't have been him. Frisk wouldn't have guessed it was Undyne who had stolen the slice she was saving.

            "What! I didn't eat it... you're lying!" Undyne glared at Sans, until she caught Frisk's accusing glare. "Fuh… huhu, Frisk you don't actually believe him right?" She smiled nervously. Frisk paused, a devious idea creeping into her mind. Her glare dissolved and replaced with a cheerful smile, "No… I don't. You would never lie to me Undyne. That's why we're besties and why I can trust you. Sans probably ate it for himself." Papyrus nodded, agreeing with Frisk that Undyne would never lie. Glancing at Undyne's expression, she saw her smiling half-heartedly, her eyes betraying a bit of guilt. Crossing her arm's Frisk turned to Sans and scowled at him. He smiled as usual, but his expression was a bit brighter since he knew what she was doing. "Fuhuh, probably…" Undyne's usual confident voice broke slightly at the end and she coughed loudly, in an attempt to probably cover her unease. She got up loudly and took her empty glass of milk. "Any of you guys want something to drink!" She shouted, to dissolve her unease or the topic, Frisk didn't know which, but she let the topic go since Undyne's guilt was more than enough to satisfy the unjust end of her butterscotch pie.

            "could I have more ketchup?" Frisk could have sworn Undyne's eye twitched a little. "Sure.. _."_ Instead of reaching over the table and grabbing Sans bottle like how she normally would, she walked around the table until she was right next to Sans. Leaning in to grab his bottle, Frisk almost missed Undyne whisper to him, "You better watch your back, **_pal_**." Maybe Frisk went a bit too far, but Sans didn't look concerned.

            "Undyne, may I have some orange juice." Toriel asked, who had stayed quiet during all of this. Her expression was relaxed and happy, which warmed Frisk's heart. While her mother was generally quiet, she always made sure everyone was alright. If the table was ever quiet, or gloomy one day, she would always be the one to start a conversation or crack a joke. And whenever an argument got out of hand, she was always the one to… end it, one way or another. As Frisk thought about it, she realized how her mom was like glue, in a figurative sense. She was the golden thread that bounded her family together. Without her, Frisk doubted she would ever see her this family this close together. Alphys and Undyne visited her almost every day, and even though they moved out of the apartment, they managed to rent a separate apartment close by there's. This was all because of Toriel, who had suggested that they all stay together as a group and as a result they all grew stronger bonds living with each other. Suddenly a dark thought crossed Frisk's mind. What if her mother died one day? The thought was sickeningly depressing and totally out of the blue for such a beautiful and hopeful morning, but before Frisk could discontinue this idea, she remembered how easily that could happen. How easily she had already done it. Regret shadowed Frisk's expression when a buried memory resurfaced within her mind. The first day she fell into the underground, the _very first_ time she fell onto the bed of flowers. She was scared and afraid, expecting her death to be met quickly… but instead it was torture.

            Every detail of her first reset was scarred within her brain. She had hit the ground in a mess of blood and broken bones, still conscious while her precious crimson fluid drained from her open gashes. The air was tainted with a metallic smell and when Frisk opened her mouth to let out an inhuman scream, she had tasted her own disgusting salty mixture of dirt, tears, and blood. Seconds after her screech she vomited, not only her meager dinner but also a large amount of blood, which gushed painful out her throat and onto the innocent golden flowers under her. Her screams quickly faded since it was too painful to vocalize. More blood regurgitated from her mouth and what couldn't be absorbed by the earth, fueled a small stream of blood through the flowers. Her mind felt fuzzy with pain and even though she was dying on stable ground she still had the sensation of falling. The flowers… were red, like the color of roses. Sweet, pretty, and pure. The flowers she fell on reminded her of roses. _Roses…_

            Almost.

            Roses are completely red, those flowers she saw… were partially red, with a mixture of gold. ' **Roses are Mother's favorite flower** , she would tell Frisk, **"...because not only are they pretty but they sting as well. They are beautiful and strong, just like you Frisk, my little doll."** Mother had a multitude of roses in her house (De-thorned of course), in delicate arrangements, or worn on her black dress whenever she went out to dad. Yes, _to_ dad… dad could never come to her since he lived six feet under. Sometimes she went alone to meet dad, or brought Frisk with her. When she left Frisk alone at home, Frisk sometimes played with the roses, stealing the most imperfect rose to play with since mother never noticed a missing, imperfect rose. Frisk loved flowers, and always wanted to go out to see them, but she wasn't allowed outside since mother didn't like her getting dirty. **"You are the offspring of perfection and beauty, my daughter. Nothing is more horrid than scarring your image."** When Frisk was younger, she didn't understand, but mother had always assured her that one day she would… and she was right. Regardless of her mother's protectiveness, the air that always reeked of perfume, and the uncomfortable dresses her mother made her wear, these years were the best of Frisk's life. Her mother cherished her like a delicate rose, like Frisk was the world to her, and Frisk wanted to repay her. So when her mother left the house, Frisk tried to make her a bouquet of perfect roses grown from her garden. However the flowers were well above arms-reach, so Frisk managed to push a rolling chair outside to reach them. The moment she stood on the chair, though, the wheels rolled out from under her and Frisk fell into a bush. The thorns had torn thin, but deep gashes into her exposed flesh, blemished her complexion with dozens of scars and discolored blotches of skin. Mom was still away when Frisk fell, so when she finally returned home, she took one look at Frisk's swollen body, and screamed. No matter how hard her mother tried, scar cream, makeup, and even surgery (The doctor wouldn't preform since one scar was in a risky area). She couldn't fix her ruined doll.

            Not long after, her mother began buying large quantities of red liquid, which looked to Frisk like blended roses. However the liquid smelled awful, and nothing like roses. Her mother would drink several glasses of this liquor every day, tainting the usual perfumey air with a bitter aroma. When she drank the red wine, her mother was no longer formal, graceful, or compassionate. She would hit Frisk and call her an ugly rat, sometimes locking her in the closet until she sobered and heard her screaming and pounding on the door to be let out. Her mother terrified her so badly that she would often hide whenever she saw her drinking. Frisk's heart would race, her body would shake harshly, and she often held her mouth shut to avoid sobbing out loud. Frisk didn't know what to do. She had nowhere to go, no one to hide behind, and no one to protect her. She silently prayed for help, **_but nobody came_**.

            Was she ever a rose to begin with? No… Frisk was like the golden flowers that surrounded her. Yellow painted red, pretending to be a flawless rose when in reality, Frisk was nothing but an ugly weed, a failure and a disappointment.

            Frisk's blood drowned the entire patch of flowers, creating a small lagoon. She stared at her own lake of blood and wondered, while her vision dotted with darkness, what her mother would say to her ugly broken doll… … … No.

            'No no no! It's not fair.' Frisk remembered thinking, her tears blurring both darkness and light together. 'I… I never got to do anything. I don't want to die... I want to...' Her body wracked with painful spasms, but through the excruciating pain she mumbled, "I'm scared… I'm scared… help, hel-" She coughed, more blood gushing out from her mouth. At that moment, her body ceased trembling and she felt nothing and was consumed by darkness.

            **("Greetings, you've met with a terrible fate, haven't you? You cried out for help but nobody came… no one came for me either. It's alright, don't be frightened… I'm here to help you. I've skimmed through your timeline and we are both so similar. I don't know why I was brought back to life… but… maybe you can help me remember?"**

            **"..."**

            **"You… you will? Thank you… What's your name?"**

            **"…"**

            **"Frisk? That's a nice name. Frisk… we will be friends forever, I can feel it…"**

            **"..."**

            **"What's my name? Oh… I don't remember. Could you give me one?"**

            **"…"**

            **"C-H-A-R-A? I like that name. . _."_**

            **Saving. . .**

            **"It's time to wake up Frisk, take my hand. . . don't worry.**

            **I will always be here to SAVE you."**

            **Loading. . .)**

            Frisk woke up on the bed of flowers, like it was all a nightmare. No blood pooled around her body and all her wounds were gone (except for the scars of course). She had no idea what was going on. Scared and afraid of the darkness that seemed to reach out and claw for her, Frisk ran from the flower patch, swinging a stick she found to ward off the imaginary monsters she envisioned in the darkness. She found a ray of light and immediately ran towards it, not expecting a talking flower. Flowey tricked her so easily, fooling her with his friendly ardor, only to bruise her soul with countless 'friendship pellets.' Frisk would have died if it wasn't for Toriel, who had rescued her. Frisk was cautious of her at first but quickly warmed to her motherly attitude. Toriel taught her how to survive, avoid fighting, and gave Frisk all her genuine love… so… why did things end up the way did? Was it fear, had her mother broken her? Or was Frisk always _dead_ inside and never had the chance to know? Maybe it was all of those reasons. She couldn't remember her other specific reason, just that she enjoyed turning monsters to ash. The first time was an accident, a frog surprised her so she naturally lashed out her stick. She didn't mean to kill it, but when it died Frisk felt something foreign that accompanied her intense remorse. The feeling was vivid and incredible, making her feel powerful. She knew what she did was wrong but a voice deep down reassured her that what she did was 'okay.'

            **(I remember...**

            **...**

            **thank you.)**

            So she kept killing, receiving the same sick euphoria as before, until soon… the ruins was empty. Except for Toriel who, in the days Frisk had lived with her in the Ruins, became like a mother to her. She loved and cherished her just as her mother once did. Toriel, along with Frisk's perverted addiction, made her feel **_whole_** again.

            Your power awakened me from death.

            But…

            You and I are not the same… are we?

            Without the euphoria of killing, which Frisk grew dependent on, her craving eventually surpassed her love for Toriel and made her desperate to find more monsters to kill. _"Toriel, I need to leave… I need to leave… LET ME OUT!" She screeched, drawing the toy knife she found, across her stomach, enjoying how the knife cut through her flesh like butter. Frisk giggled insanely as her mother began dissolving into the dust Frisk grew so fond of._ _"Y… you… really hate me that much? Now I see who I was protecting by keeping you here. Not you… but them! H a . . . H a . . ."_

            **(This soul resonates with a strange feeling…**

            **You…**

            **You are wracked a perverted sentimentality**

            **Hmm…)**

            _Her mother slouched over and fell on one knee, her laugh was soft but the sick smile and deranged eyes, sent shivers down Frisk's spine._ _Frisk stopped laughing and watched lamely as her mother dissipated into dust. The euphoria didn't come. No… no this wrong. This… I don't want this. Frisk began laughing as a wave of regret and realization crashed upon her. 'What… what am I?' "I want to start over! I want to start over!" She screamed without thinking, dropping the knife to dig her fingernails into her flesh. She sobbed and crumpled to the ground, not because it hurt, but because the pain wasn't enough to distract from the guilt. "I'm sorry! I'm so… so sorry… I promise I won't do it again… please!" She cried out, but no one was **alive** to hear._

            **(You think you are above consequences?**

            **…**

            **Fine. You can have your happy ending… as long as I get mine. Deal..?**

            **…**

            **You can't hear me can you? Only feel my presence within your soul.**

            **It doesn't matter.**

            **You've already made your choice.)**

            **_Reset..?_**

            **_Yes._**

            Frisk frowned, feeling her sins press on her shoulders. Unconsciously, Frisk had begun to slouch as she remembered her twisted nature.

            "What do you want to drink, punk? … Frisk..?"

            Frisk liked to think that in the past, she was a different person, not truly herself. She knew that she was in denial but denial was the only thing keeping her from having a meltdown. She was so happy when she learned how reset… and she vowed to herself that she would do anything to free the monsters and protect them. Her addiction wasn't easy to break though, but eventually her friends became more important to her than satisfying the itch to kill.

            " _Hmph… you are just like the others… wait… why are you looking at me like that? Like you have seen a ghost. Do you know something I do not? No… that is impossible."_

            …

            " _Hehehe…_

            _I know what you did._

            **_You_** _murdered her._

            _And then you went back, because you regretted it."_

            **...**

            "uh kid… you alright?" Frisk's dull eyes, which was staring straight through her plate, snapped from their frozen spot and turned to Sans. He looked worried, no wait… everyone was looking at her that way. _Oops._ Frisk was tongue tied, unsure what to say to turn the spotlight away from her.

            **Reset?**

            **No.**

            "S- sorry, tibia honest i'm still _bone_ -tired." Frisk smiled widely, shrugging with one eye open, spitting out the only line she could think of while imitating Sans' voice the best she could. The pun was painful, but it had to be done. Undyne snickered at Frisk's imitation but her mother, while visibly amused, still looked at her with concern, and Papyrus... looked like he might flip the table. She held onto her food just in case.

            "SANS, OH MY GOD, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO FRISK!?"

            "i dunno." He shrugged, "that was an _egg_ cellent imitation though, it really _cracked_ me up."

            "SANS, STOP."

            "sorry pap, i didn't mean to get under your skin."

            "STOP!"

            **Reset?**

            …

            …

            **No...**

            The distance to the beach was relatively short, since the beach was close to the apartment building they lived in. However, they couldn't all fit into one car so Asgore offered to drive Undyne and Sans while Toriel drove Frisk and Papyrus. Undyne looked like she might protest but instead, called shotgun to avoid sitting next to Sans. The two were almost exact opposites, which was why Undyne often avoided or argued with Sans. She couldn't stand how lazy he was, his snide humor, or weird antics, but there are those rare times when Frisk sees them both getting along and joking with each other. Of course that sight often ended with a pun which refueled the conflict between the two. The only other tension in Frisk's family was Toriel and Asgore.

            When her mother said that they wouldn't be friends again, she meant it, which made Frisk and Undyne sympathize for Asgore. Although he had murdered six other humans before Frisk, he didn't do it out of hatred or malice. When Frisk ended up fighting him, she realized how much he was holding back and how eager he was to have his life taken. While Toriel shunned him, Undyne and Frisk often visited his apartment and drank tea together. Undyne always suggested that he should talk to Toriel or come to breakfast (since Toriel is too polite to refuse even Asgore to breakfast) but he always shook his head sadly, saying, 'I appreciate your advice, Undyne, but it is better to keep my distance. The pain I caused Toriel can't be forgiven over one talk, I hardly think a lifetime of talking will change anything.' Undyne always denied this fact but she didn't understand how strongly Toriel loved the six humans who'd fallen down and ultimately died to Asgore. Frisk had somewhat of an understanding, and feared that Asgore was right. It was Undyne who forced Asgore to come to the beach, and while her mother didn't refuse him she wasn't very happy either. Frisk really hoped they would bond at the beach but she doubted it.

            During the ride, Papyrus and her had played 'I Spy' which Papyrus was surprisingly good at, however halfway through the game Frisk's chest began to hurt. She tried to ignore it at first, since she didn't want them to worry about her, but eventually Papyrus caught on. "FRISK, ARE YOU ALRIGHT, YOU LOOK A BIT UNCOMFORTABLE." Frisk smiled softly and lied that she only had a small stomach ache. "Would you like us to stop?" Asked her mother, who sounded concerned as usual, "Perhaps the motion of the car is making you sick?" Frisk shook her head, "No it's alright, and it's already going away." She reassured, looked out the car window. Trees were whizzing past them, growing sparser as they entered the hills. The beach was close and Frisk didn't want them to turn back because of some weird chest pain, it was already going away anyways. Her family was always busy with work, it was rare that they went on 'group vacations' such as this. "Papyrus, I spy with my little eye… a cool skeleton!" She chirped. "AH HUMAN, YOU FLATTER ME. YOUR EYE MUST HAVE SPIED ME, THE GREAT PAPYRUS." He hummed with pride, however that was quickly shattered by what she said next.

            "Nope guess again." His expression dropped and hurt was written all over his face. Guilt penetrated through Frisk's heart when she realized that she had mistakenly hurt his feelings, which was very difficult to do. Before she could apologize, his hurt turned into something Frisk never expected. "WHERE IS THIS REALLY COOL SKELETON!" Papyrus hissed with jealousy, trying to peer out the window next to Frisk. Next to their car, was Asgore's small pink car. Frisk pointed to Sans, who was asleep in the back seat.

            "OH, I SEE..." Papyrus pulled away from the window and physically relaxed, but was still very quiet and seemed still bothered by what she'd said. "Papyrus... it's uh… your turn." She smiled nervously, but Papyrus didn't respond. Awkward silence clung to the walls of the car until Frisk got an idea. "You know Papyrus, you're not cool." Papyrus seemed shocked by what she said, as well as her mother who glanced at the rearview mirror with a mixture of confusion and shock. Before Papyrus could feel even worse, she continued "You're awesome. I only have eyes for you, baby~" She cooed, using her trusty pick-up line, causing Toriel to laugh and mumble, "Oh dear…" Frisk smiled, remembering that she had used that same pick-up line on Toriel. Luckily Papyrus didn't know that.

            Papyrus's cheeks flushed in embarrassment, his cloud of misery disappearing in an instant "F- FRISK! I APPRECIATE THE REMINDER OF YOUR INTENSE LOVE FOR ME BUT… I THOUGHT WE ALREADY DISCUSSED THIS!" Frisk smiled successfully, nodding her head. Despite Papyrus's embarrassment, and Frisk's unfortunate friend-zone, his melancholy was gone, and that's all that mattered to her. Believe it or not, for Papyrus's slight arrogance he was also extremely self-conscious, and Frisk knew that he had a secret fear of losing friends if he didn't always appear cool. Frisk felt her heart glow with the familiar warmth of love. She really did love her family, so… she couldn't be the monster she thought she was. Whoever that was who had slaughtered monsters for fun, for the sick pleasure of killing, it wasn't her.

            **Saving. . .**

            After a few more minutes of games with Papyrus, they reached their destination. "What are you going to do Papyrus?" Frisk asked, as she rolled down the windows. Her head kind of hurt but the sea air made her mind feel at ease. "I'M GLAD YOU ASKED, I BOUGHT A BOOK ON BEACHES JUST FOR THIS OCCASION AND APPARENTLY 'SAND' WORKS A LOT LIKE SNOW!" He chirped excitedly, Frisk could already guess what he was going to do but asked anyways, "So you're going to build a sand castle?"

            "NOPE! A SAND VERSION OF ME, WOULD YOU LIKE TO HELP FRISK?" Frisk smiled, she wasn't exactly sure what she was expecting but gladly accepted since she didn't have any activities planned.

            As soon as they parked, Frisk launched out, almost hitting the door against another car. "Be careful!" Her mom call out, noticing this as well. After a few minutes, Frisk spotted Asgore's car and waved. They parked close by and got out, "SMELL THAT PUNK? THAT'S REAL FRESH AIR!" Undyne called from across the street, waving back to both Frisk and Papyrus. A few adults turned their heads at this booming shout, sending annoyed expressions, but that didn't damper Undyne excitement at the least. "Frisk, Papyrus, could you both help me with these beach supplies?" Toriel asked, opening the trunk of the car.

            "OF COURSE YOUR HIGHNESS!" Papyrus chimed, rushing to help pull out chairs. Frisk nodded and held out her arms to carry something. "There you are… not too heavy, yes?" Toriel asked, handing her a chair.

            "Nope! I... mean yes?" Frisk answered with confusion. Toriel laughed, as she pulled out a bag filled with beach supplies.

            "Let me carry that for you." Toriel turned sharply at this sudden voice, as did Frisk, who didn't hear Asgore creep up. Toriel seemed surprised at first, but her expression hardened. "It's fine, Asgore, I can carry this myself. Thank you." Frisk frowned as she watched hurt flash on Asgore's face. Her mother ignored it though, and turned back to close the trunk. Papyrus unaware of the tension exclaimed, "HERE ASGORE YOU CAN CARRY THESE CHAIRS!" Papyrus handed him two lime green chairs, causing Asgore to smile awkwardly. "Thanks, Papyrus."

            "Are you guys done? Great, LET'S GO!" Undyne shrieked, her hands positioning her surfboard like a spear as she ran towards the direction of the waves. Her enthusiasm was contagious to Frisk and soon she found herself running along with her with the same exhilaration, while people looked at them as if they were mad men. Surprisingly Sans made it to the sand before both of them, and was resting on semi-flat sand. He appeared still asleep, however Frisk couldn't really tell since he had large sunglasses on. "How did you get here before us, you didn't even leave the car!" Undyne scoffed above him. Sans lazily lifted one arm and wiggled his fingers. "Magic." He whispered, drawing his arms behind his head as he rested on the sand.

            It was a beautiful day outside, which was probably why there were so many people also at the beach, monsters and humans alike. The sky was blue with only thin clouds covering the sky, and the water reflected that with a clear blue sea. Monsters were easily accepted by children, she noticed, but not so much by adults, who were still cautious of them. Granted Frisk did see human and monster couples, but that was rare and considered taboo in her city. She didn't see any human/monster couples at the beach but she knew that just as gay marriage was accepted as normal, so would monster and human relationships.

            "FRISK, WATER LEVELS ARE LOW! I NEED YOU TO REFILL THE RESERVOIR!" Papyrus commanded, holding out a near empty bucket of water. She stopped patting down sand and took the bucket. "On it!" She reassured, getting up from her knees. Her knees were a bit red and sore but it was worth it, the Sand Papyrus was looking great. However the tide was rising, and Frisk feared the waves might swallow the sand sculpture for the third time. As Frisk walked into the waves she noticed the sun slightly lowering from the sky, time passed by quickly, they must have been at the beach for a few hours. Frisk chuckled as she dipped the bucket into the rising salt water, remembering how Papyrus panicked when the water destroyed the unfinished Sand Papyrus for the second time. After that he built the Sand Papyrus inland of the beach, which made water always in short supply, her arms were getting kind of weak from these trips for water and her chest pain was worsening but she didn't complain, she didn't want to end their trip or fun because of her exhaustion… but she did want to take a break, perhaps after she delivered the water to Papyrus, she would sit with Toriel, Sans, and Asgore. Maybe Frisk would make Sans a mermaid tail from the sand, since he was still laying on the sand doing nothing but resting. He would make a good model for her sand-mermaid-skeleton creation. Frisk grinned at this silly idea.

            As Frisk heaved the bucket from the ocean, she spotted Undyne paddling up to a wave. Undyne's always been graceful in water, perhaps because she's part fish. Her gills did give her an advantage over regular swimmers, allowing her to breath underwater. She would probably make a good lifeguard, if she wasn't so rough with people. She often misjudges her strength, and would most likely break a person in half as she saves them. She really tries to be gentle with Frisk though, but even then Undyne sometimes left bruises on her body. Frisk didn't really mind, since they always went away after a day or two. She watched as Undyne caught a wave and began to stand up, however something happened and she fell off the board and into the water. Frisk laughed as the wave took Undyne's board with it, causing Undyne to stream out a list of profanities, causing other surfs near her to stop paddling and stare at her. Turning away she carried the bucket towards Papyrus, who was frantically trying to building a wall to protect his sculpture from the ravenous waves. She tried to quicken her pace to help him, however halfway towards him she suddenly felt lightheaded and tired, and she stumbled losing a bit of water from the bucket. She stopped for a moment to catch her break, listening to the quick rhythm of her heart as she gazed at the sand.

            " **It is happening quicker than I thought."** Frisk looked towards this sudden voice and was surprised to find a girl who looked almost exactly like her, except this girl had short dark auburn hair, rosy cheeks, and weary red eyes. She also looked older than her height, and her eyes looked bored as she gazed at Frisk expectantly. "Oh, hello, what's your name... and what's happening quicker?" Frisk asked the girl beside her. The girl looked familiar but Frisk assumed that was because she looked a lot like herself. The light-skinned girl seemed surprised for a moment, but her eyes eventually reverted, and she smiled brightly. **"Greetings, my name is Chara."** Frisk flinched as soon as the girl answered. _Chara… isn't that the name Asriel kept calling me?_ Frisk stared at her with bewilderment until she spoke up, **"Is that monster your mom?"** Chara asked pointing towards smiling Toriel, who was lounging on a beach chair and reading a book about snails. Frisk nodded and Chara's face lit up, but something about her smile seemed… empty, **"That is cool, my mom is just an ordinary human."** She shrugged, pointing towards an older women a few yards away. The woman looked a little like Chara, with the same auburn hair. Frisk relaxed, realizing that this Chara was someone else. **"Let me carry that for you. You look deathly tired."** Chara observed, already taking the heavy bucket from her. "Oh, thank you… my name is Frisk." Normally Frisk would have denied the help, claiming that she could carry it by herself, but the lightheadedness and aching in her chest was making her spill Papyrus's water.

            As they walked, Frisk rubbed her head and blinked a few times, her vision had blurring for a moment almost making her stumble and fall. She groaned, looking at the ground as a dull headache began to form, she _really_ needed a break. Frisk felt like she had been hit full-force by one of Papyrus's bones or Undyne's spear. **"Frisk… do you see that?"** Chara suddenly spoke up, her voice was darker than before and graver. Frisk looked up to Chara with confusion. "See what?" Frisk asked, following Chara's view until she spotted a young boy, playing with another girl. The weird thing was… they weren't moving. Everyone around Frisk seemed frozen in place except for her and Chara. They were all like frozen statues, even the waves were frozen. **"That boy… will shoot up a school when he ages… and his sister there, will sell her body for cheap cash. It's disgusting, but… we won't let that happen right, Frisk?"** Frisk looked at Chara as if she had grown a second head, _what is she talking about… why isn't anyon-?_ Suddenly the dull ache in Frisk's chest magnified, causing Frisk to gasp in pain. Frisk crumpled to the ground and tried to clutch her chest. Instead, her hand gripped only her smooth red heart which was pumping erratically on her chest. Something was wrong, something was very _very_ wrong. "What's happening?" Frisk cried, her voice breaking from panic and pain. However everything around her gone, Chara, Papyrus, Sans, Toriel, the entire beach. Everything was gone, leaving nothing but darkness... and two doors.

            **(It's my turn now.)**

            "F- FRISK WHATS WRONG. FRISK WHY AREN'T YOU MOVING… … TORIEL! SANS!"

            "Papyrus? What- FRISK!"

            "oh god… kid... wake up!"


	6. The Girl, Chains, and Mercy

            Dripping echoed throughout the vast area of the waterfall, creating an orchestra of chaotic, yet calming music. The larger waterfalls, which thundered far behind Sans in a misty foam of white and blue, hummed at a constant pace, while the dripping stalagmites cried with its melodical sorrow. Perhaps the stalagmites cried because it was distressed along with the rest of the underground and desired to be free. Perhaps the web of streams, which dug miles in different directions only to reach a dead end, was not a mere coincidence but of the water's desperate digging to find its mass, the ocean.

            Or maybe… maybe it remembered. Remembered the resets and the good monsters, whose eyes once sparkled with hope, painted it's clear streams cloudy with dust. That was silly, though. Even though water composes the tears of both the happy and the devastated, though it is the rawest sign of emotion, it is both lifeless and dead.

            Sans walked quietly down the damp path of the waterfall, his twilight pair of crescent shaped eyes gazed emotionlessly towards the glimmering ceiling. His 'sky' held clusters of reddish, light-consuming crystals. Makeshift stars designed to bring hope and wonder to the monsters below. They couldn't even compare to real stars, the bright gleaming dots that littered the real sky like spilt glitter... with more suns than seconds in his entire life.

            Six hundred and forty two, that's how many 'stars' monsters would ever see underground. Monsters could only dream of seeing the real deal... It was a shame none of them remembered.

            The dripping orchestra and the consistent relaying of blue flowers was the only thing breaking the tranquil silence of the Waterfall. That and the obnoxious squashing his slippers made each step he took on the rocky terrain. He was used to dampened slippers though (since melted snow was impossible to avoid in snowdin), so he naturally blocked out the sound.

            Sans was very slowly making his way back home after a long, _long_ day of patrolling. In which he checked every nook and cranny of the hotlands (for his brother) and patrolled the majority of the snowdin. Today he contributed his entire whole into defending the Underground from any type of threat and impossible likelihood of finding another human. That story, of course, wasn't true. Sans just sold hot dogs at Hotland and faked a report of having 'diligently patrolled the area'. He usually didn't go through the effort of faking a report, but Papyrus took his position very seriously and would be pretty upset if he discovered that Sans hadn't actually patrolled the area for him.

            Sans didn't have to walk home, he could just take a 'shortcut' just as he had yesterday, but he was too wrapped up in his thoughts and for once, his fears. Contrary to his paranoia, it had been three peaceful days since Frisk had passed out. He wasn't too concerned of her health, since she would most likely have the determination to reset. What concerned him were two problems. First was her theorized blindness. He wasn't entirely certain she was blind, but the suspicious activity pointed in that direction.

            If she was blind then it left him with a second, more concerning problem. **_How_** was she blind? The reset should have wiped her memories clean, leaving her traits, actions, and history identical to the first timeline. No one but himself could have changed that. Even if he had slipped up somewhere along his lines, her timeline should have been protected by the barrier that separated human timelines and monster's. Even the events didn't occurred normally. Fainting was never a probability and neither was dying at the maze, or nearly falling off a cliff side. The list went on and Sans didn't have to be awake to know for a fact that something was wrong with the timeline. While the differences outside of Frisk's actions seemed minor, it guaranteed that Sans couldn't predict exactly what would happen now that the timeline was derailed. Sans wasn't sure if this new Frisk's survival was even possible now. Even her determination has its limits... yet. . .

            That didn't seem to be a problem.

            Sans slid his hand into his blue jacket pocket and gripped the wooden handle inside. It was smooth against his bone fingers, however the knife was still gritty with monster dust. Through the sickening blood, Sans could see the detail embedded into the knife. The wood was dyed similar to Asgore's trident. Strands of bright red metal embedded the red-wood handle, circling both the handle and the blade. The embedded metal resembled human veins, as if the knife itself wasn't just an inanimate object, but a living creature. The blade was coated with dust but still translucent. It appeared to be made from a glass-like material, yet had the texture of metal. The knife was washed out of the ketchup red he was familiar with, but it was unmistakable the same knife **she** had used.

            It was impossible for her to have gotten this far peacefully and blind. The monsters she'd encountered should have killed her dozens, hell, _hundreds_ of times. Though, as far as he knew, only one or two resets had occurred.

            Sans let out a deep sigh, slowing his steady pace. He resumed his casual stride in a different direction, towards a nearby river. The river was stagnate and probably too far from a waterfall to roughen the reflective surface. Scattered crystals poked underneath the riverbed, lighting up the water with a mixture of red, purple, and blue. When he reached the bank, he paused to stare at his reflection. The slouching skeleton in the water's reflection was frustrated, restless, and despite the lack of skin, dark shades of grey were forming under his eye sockets.

            "heh... at this rate kid… I might sprout a full head of white hair. papyrus would be jealous." He mumbled the last part under his breath, chuckling softly. No one was around to hear him except for the couple dozen blue flowers on the edge of the bank, swaying softly in the breeze as they sung passing conversations. He's chuckling ended on a grave, tired note. His eye sockets lowered until his eyes were hardly a moon-sliver. He was _really_ exhausted.

            He shouldn't have agreed to keep her promise, he should have created a loophole during the time, like he always did with papyrus when 'promising' to 'pick up' his sock. Now he was stuck with a two promises he couldn't keep, and to make it worse they both conflicted with each other. He couldn't fulfil one promise without breaking the other.

            _If a human ever comes through this door… could you please, please promise something? Watch over them, and protect them, will you not?_

            'Did keeping his promise to Toriel really matter at this point?' Frisk had picked up the knife and now it was covered in some dead monster's dust. The dust on the knife was unmistakably monster blood, but her LV and EXP hadn't increased like it should have. Was that another flaw in the timeline, or was this new Frisk really innocent?

            He'd been having this debate for the past three days she's been out, unable to come to a conclusion without running into a consequence. He hardly slept during those days and when exhaustion did take over, it was never in peace. His only escape from this hopeless loop, became plagued with disturbing dreams. Ranging from a noose with Papyrus's scarf underneath a pile of dust, to **her** choking an innocent monster to death while Sans remained frozen a few inches away, unable to do anything but watch.

            Having power over the timeline wasn't his thing, and it was certainly taking it's toll on him. Perhaps a few timelines ago he would have gladly killed her. Hell, five timelines ago he tried repeatedly as soon as she stepped out of the gate, but now that he finally had the power to take her soul, he couldn't bring himself to do it. Not if he wasn't one hundred percent sure Frisk was a lost cause.

            Frisk's soul was weakened after her reset. The reset shattered not only the timelines up to her birth, but also **her** control over Frisk's soul. If Sans took her soul and pulled that annoying weed, the timeline would hopefully be locked. No more re-do's, no more resets.

            It was the ideal ending, he once thought. It was when Sans realized the consequences of taking Frisk's soul, that he understood what Toriel's promise had meant. Sure, taking the last soul would free the monsters from the stalemate they've been stuck on but it would also bring an end to the barrier. The bliss of fresh air wouldn't last a week. Without Frisk as their ambassador to calm the impulsiveness of the humans rage and ease the king's sins, both Humans and Monsters would be at a war that even he couldn't possibly win (especially if the whole underground could be slaughtered by a small child with a stick). It would be a dusty massacre.

            "Y'see Frisk… this is exactly why I don't make promises. You can't keep them without consequences." His irises lit up again as he brought the knife up. After examining the blood one last time, he shook his head with a huff.

            "You're making the same mistake kiddo… but… i'll let you off the hook. Just this once. " He stared at the knife a little while longer, before casting it into the pure crystal water. However, the knife didn't sink. Instead it bobbed on its side rather noticeably. It seemed that even the water was rejecting the unholy object. It didn't surprise him.

            "As stubborn as the kid who used it…" He growled lowly.

            Dull blue smoke emanated from his iris as he manipulated the knife's gravity. The water slid right off the murder weapon with ease, however the blade was still cloudy with dust. Sans knew very well that it would take much more than water to cleanse the sins that stained knife. He gripped the dry knife and returned it to his jacket pocket, deciding it was probably best to keep it locked in the lab, where she would be less likely to find it again, not that she needed a knife to murder monsters in the first place. Heck she could use a twig if she wanted to, but taking the knife would remove the pressure to use it. He only hoped he wasn't making a mistake by letting her go.

            Sans' footsteps slowed to a stop as he neared the mouth of the cave. His tired sockets widened at the sight before him. This wasn't supposed to happen either.

            "One heck of a Blizzard, huh Sans?" He flinched away from the sudden sound but relaxed when he recognized the orange-scaled amphibian, standing a few feet away from him with a potted Echo flower held in his fins. It was the Echo Flower Explainer who usually hung around Sans' watchpost. Sans didn't know his real name, no one did, but the monster insisted that he be called, 'The Echo Flower Explainer' which was kinda of a mouthful to say, so Sans (and other monsters) just called him Echo, or Explainer. Echo didn't just explain the echo flower like a broken record player, but he also took care of them. From time to time Sans saw him take wilted Echo Flowers home to be cured, or carry several pots of golden flowers to the king. He was a great florist and Sans wondered, for a moment, if he ever found success on the surface or became a botanist.

            Sans smiled, despite the ill-omen yowling outside the cave, and nodded, turning to face the storm. "yeah… it's **blowing** me away."

            "Thats an understatement." Echo retorted in a slightly snobbish tone, however when Sans peered at his expression, he saw only fascination. "I can't even remember the last time Snowdin had a blizzard, it's a weather phenome- wait." Sans' smiled curiously, but he knew by the swelling of Echo's cheeks, that he had caught on. " _Was that a pun?"_ Echo whistled. His lisp became more prominent the more he was agitated. Sans chuckled as he watched the amphibians cheeks swell in anger. One thing he loved about puns was the wide range of reactions. While very few enjoyed them, others reacted in ways that revealed diverse and unique expressions. Echo's reaction was almost as funny as Papyrus's but unlike his brother, Echo's cheeks always puff up like a pufferfish after each successful pun. His inflated cheeks almost made him resemble Onion. "Oh come on that was funny… don't give me the **cold** shoulder." The potted echo flower Echo held, which was silently mimicking the blizzard roaring, now repeated loudly 'Don't give me the **cold** shoulder…" The face Echo made intensified, which made it harder not to cripple to the ground laughing. Funny thing about an echo flower is that it can selectively repeat what it's told. The flower would probably repeat what he'd said for hours.

            "I'm leaving, I hope you blow away in that storm." Echo hissed as he slither opposite of the storm, presumably heading back to the water district.

            "wow that was... **cold**. I never expected you to **blow** me off that easily. Please don't **storm** off." Sans shifted to the side, dodging an airborne rock from cracking his skull.

            "Don't storm off... " the flower repeated.

            _Never trust a skeleton or a flower, that's one of the constants of this world._

            **"Hurry up you damn skeleton." Growled a red-headed girl, pacing aggressively up and down a fluid beam of light. In comparison to the milky-white light she stood on, she was like a tiny, while poisonous, black widow climbing a water pipe. Similar beams of light surround this red-headed girl like a web, some going in different directions while others interconnected. Most of these beams were miles apart from each other, but a few hovered close by. One even connected with Sans' timeline for a few meters, before branching off towards another timeline. The shimmering 'floor' she paced on rippled like water, however not a single drop stuck to her feet.**

            **Her body mimicked that of a child, with a petite figure and short ruddy hair. Her appearance hinted nothing uncommon from the ordinary child, who you might see giggling with a group of friends or swinging gleefully between the grasp of two adult hands. What distinguished herself from human, were the two gaping holes replacing her eyes, emanating the same darkness as the void around her.**

            **Her body dripped like melted ice cream, despite the cold that accommodated the void. She had been away from Frisk's timeline for too long and now her body didn't have enough determination to hold herself together. She was dissipating into nothing, like one of her victims. Except her body was not turning into dust, her body was nothing more than condensed void glued together by hatred. But hatred wasn't enough to keep her form together, no it took _determination. But_ She couldn't naturally create determination without a soul, she could only leech determination from someone else's timeline. Which was hard to do, chained to a determined-dry timeline.**

            **As she paced, she unknowingly passed her travel limit, causing rope-like strands of light to appear on her wrists. She gasped as these shackles pulled her harshly backwards. Unable to catch her balance, she toppled over, falling back onto San's timeline. A large ripple formed where she fell, disrupting the stillness that had settled along the floor. Void fell from her body like excess flour, leaving small patches of darkness in their absence. She clenched her teeth as she pushed herself up and limped closer to the present. The shackle's light faded as she reached present-day.**

            **She'd forgotten what this was like, in the void without a soul. To be on a short leash, chained to some diehard's timeline. Except unlike before, her existence wasn't securely tied down to Frisk's timeline, but the knife San's currently held in his pocket.**

            **She shook her head, she didn't want to think about her pathetic situation. She knelt down onto her melting knees and pressed her nails into the floor. She pulled her hands apart, in an attempt to crack open the timeline enough for her to slip in, however the floor refused to give way. A low growl rippled from her throat. She couldn't tell if Sans knew that she was tampering with his timeline or if she was too weak to enter. She took a deep breath, pushing the little determination she had into her hands.**

            **It was a bad idea, she knew this. Without properly distributed determination, her form began to disintegrate at a ridiculous pace. The cracks that covered her hands disappeared as determination flooded them. In exchange her body began to disintegrate and crack in certain areas. Black ooze, darker than the void, began to seep and drip from these cracks. Hurriedly, she pulled the timeline floor again, managing to form a wide enough tear for her to slip in. Closing her 'eyes' from the blinding light that bled from the timeline, she summoned the last of her strength and pulled herself through**.

            Wind and snow berated the skeleton in violent waves, chilling his bones colder than death. Luckily it was impossible for him to die in the cold. Sure it was uncomfortable but his soul couldn't freeze like warm-dusted monsters.

            Sans walked a few meters from the waterfall, clutching his snow-clogged hood firmly over his skull while his jacket lapped in the wind. It was difficult to see in the blizzard and near impossible to navigate, despite his house being close by. His vision was obscured with white snow, but he could see collections of pine tree´s bending in the wind. Anymore and the trucks would snap, 'like a strand of uncooked spaghetti' Papyrus would say before a hearty Nyeh-heh-heh.

            He paused to look around, quickly discovering this method to be futile. He was practically blind in all directions. He shrugged, deciding to quit his walk.

            A mist of lapis blue trailed from his eye as he prepared to teleport. His static smile disappeared unexpectedly as he let go of his hood to grip his skull. The wind blew the hood easily off of his skull, leaving it exposed to the harsh berade of ice and snow, but that wasn't concerning him. His fingers scraped harshing along his temples as he tried to keep his head from splitting like an egg. At least that's what it felt like.

            He's had headaches like this before, but never as harsh. He squeezed his sockets closed, expecting to split into dust. However the pain began to ebb a few minutes later, leaving him breathless and dizzy. 'What… migraines now?' He rubbed his skull. ' **Oops, did I do that?'** The small girl hummed, her voice unheard. Her body was distorted with patches of darkness as she stood a few feet from Sans.

            Sans vision didn't improve, but he continued to walk, pulling his hood over his recovering skull. That was... weird. Teleportation had never given him headaches before. Perhaps the migraine was random and purely from stress, but he didn't want to risk trying to teleport again. His pupil died to a milky white as he resumed his battle with the wind and snow.

            **The girl walking by his side, showing no resistance to the blizzard, heard his thoughts echo withen her own and growled. This wasn't her intention, and now it would take even longer for her to make it to Frisk's timeline. It took all of her willpower not to tear his timeline open again, and cause him another bone splitting headache. It would only slow him down and kill her faster. At that moment a flush of red fazed through her, catching Sans eye. It paid her no attention, however Sans turned sharply, and stopped the cloth in midair. As he drew it closer, the girl recognized the cloth and smiled brighter when an idea came to mind. This would send him running, if she did this right.**

            **The yellow bonds that formed her shackles, reappeared. They glowed a soft honey yellow, but reflect no light onto the pale snow, or the slurring storm around her. The bond connected to her wrist, like an IV. Instead of sucking determination from him like a blood bat (not that he had any determination), she focused her memories into him.**

            Sans analyzed the scarf, which struggled against his grip, with a puzzled expression. It was Papyrus's scarf, but wasn't he watching the human at home? Unless she woke up, but that would mean...

            His soul chilled, colder than the storm swirling around him. _They're fighting._

            Before he could react, he heard his brother's voice and words he remembered all too well.

            "HUMAN! I BELIEVE YOU ARE IN NEED OF GUIDANCE. I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WOULD GLADLY BE YOUR FRIEND AND TUTOR."

            Sans stiffened, unable to move in his panic. His pupils died into darkness, as his bones trembled with a mix of terror, anger, and regret. Unpleasant memories racked his skull. Papyrus's voice was in all directions, as if the wind was carrying his voice around Sans to taunt him.

            "I WILL TURN YOUR LIFE AROUND."

            His joints must have thawed at some point because now he was running. He called his brother's name desperately, however the roaring drowned out his words. Of all the times that she could have woken up and revealed her betrayal, it had to be now. In this fucking blizzard. He couldn't locate where Papyrus was, which only increase his panic. Not again, _not again_.

            "I SEE YOU ARE APPROACHING" West. His voice was coming from the west. Sans turned sharply, dodging a pine tree but not the branch attached. Sans clenched his teeth in pain, but continued despite the trickle of 'blood' seeping from his forehead.

            "...ARE YOU OFFERING A HUG OF ACCEPTANCE?" A knot of panic stopped Sans from crying out. _Nononononono, PAPYRUS STOP!_

            Sans couldn't hear his voice anymore.

            " **Closer… closer... that's enough. Welcome home. Thanks for the show comedian, but Drama isn't your style."**

            Something caught his foot, sending him into a pile snow. He pushed himself to his knees, breathing heavily with sweat beading from his forehead, despite the cold. He looked up, seeing the faint silhouette of a young girl. His eye burned brighter. "You… little brat..."

            **The girl howled with laughter as Sans face planted into a snow poff. She wiped a black tear from her eye as she moved closer to the house. A part of her longed for this to have been real. For Sans' hopes to have been blown to pieces because of his stupid act of mercy. No, it take a lot more effort on her part for that to happen. For now what he'd heard would just be a dream… a hallucination. Maybe he's the one who needs to QUIT and take a break.**

            **Waves of determination flowed from the house, and despite not being directly connected to Frisk's timeline, the girl could feel her power increase drastically. _So… you're finally awake_** **She knew Frisk was, since Frisk's determination was too strong for her to be unconscious. The girl glanced behind her, locking eyes with a certain blue eyed skeleton's glare. A trickle of blood oozed from his forehead. The girl's eyes widened slightly, realizing that she had forgotten to mask herself. She'd been determination dry for so long, she was used to being naturally incorporeal.**

            **She waved at him with a bright smile, though she doubt he could see anything more than her silhouette. She shrugged, she couldn't tell.** "You… little brat..." **he began, his voice as rough as gravel on pavement.** **The girl smiled, but before he could make a move, she flashed to right and 'opened' the door to his house. (She could only show the illusion of her opening the door since she didn't have enough LOVE or physical matter to affect anything but his senses.) She 'slammed' the door shut behind her before going incorporeal. This was going to be more interesting than she thought.**

            "ALRIGHT, I'LL BE RIGHT BACK!" Papyrus stood up from the couch and walked away, seconds later she heard him enter a door and close it behind him. As he searched for the book, Frisk waited patiently on the couch, sipping her almost cold drink. A few moments later she heard the front door slam open, causing her to jump and drop the cup in the process. "P- Papyrus, Is that you? How did you..." She yelped in fear as she felt herself suddenly levitated from the couch, the blankets easily falling off her. Before she could find out what was going on she was forceful thrown and slammed painfully against a wall.

            "What did you do to my brother, **Chara?** " Growled an angry voice.

            Frisk gasped as her back collided with the wall, however instead of an inhaled gasp, her breath exploded from her lungs. The need to breath and the pain emanating from her back was the only thing consuming her mind. She didn't wonder who had flung her or what had pinned her to the wall. Instead she feebly opened and closed her mouth like a fish, as she struggled to suck air into her burning lungs.

            "What did you do to him. Answer me!" The voice repeated through the pain shooting up and down the young girls spine. She responded with struggled gasps and a pumping red heart that hammered loudly in her ears. The grip that choked her loosed slightly, allowing her to take in a painful gasp of air. She coughed violently until she felt something cold and metal press at her neck. **Yes! YES! DO IT!** A voice screamed loudly in her ears. _W-what-_

            "Ya'know." The male voice interrupted with a low, dangerous tone. "I almost believed you. I almost thought there was some good left in that freak shell of yours..." The voice calmed slightly, but despite being a tad hazy from the pain, Frisk knew it was just an act. She learned this the hard way at the orphanage. Her breaths were shallow, fearing that one deep breath would have her throat slit. "I've always been curious as to why you loved this knife so much." Frisk's eyebrows raised in shock as she realized who was speaking, _He lied to me... he wants me dead_. The knife pressed against her skin harder, sparking her terror to become vocal. Taking an involuntary sharp breath she screamed for help, realizing too late that it was a bad idea.

            **You cried for help...**

            Pain flooded her entire body as warm liquid trailed from her neck, a painful spasm overtook her body. She hardly felt herself hit the floor. A strange garbling sound was all that came out of her mouth. That, and a steady river of blood.

            "oh, _god_..."

            Another door slammed open.

            **Papyrus came.**

            "WHAT IS GOING ON, HUMAN HAVE YOU FALL-" The second voice fell quiet, replaced with rapid thumping.

            "p- papyrus? how..?"

            "GET AWAY FROM HER! FRISK! FRISK ARE YOU ALRIGHT!?" Something was moving her. Something was pressed onto her neck, causing sheering pain. She couldn't breath no matter how deeply she tried. Her body was raddled with pain, but no matter how much she desired it, she wouldn't fall unconscious. She didn't respond to frantic voice, too focused on the ringing in her ears. He had lied to her. They had lied to her. Finally something gentle and bony attempted to pick her up, causing a rush of blood, pain, and senselessness to overcome her yet again.

            **Game over. . . =)**

            The heart, once beating rapidly on Frisk's chest, fell still. Papyrus shuttered, as thick clumps of blood continued to gush from her neck, dyeing his battle body a dark crimson. She was limp and unmoving in his arms. The feeling of her lifeless body was almost familiar, but he didn't try to figure out why. Instead his focus was on Sans and his horrified expression. Papyrus shook his head, his eyes brimming with orange tears and fear. Papyrus backed away from Sans slowly, unsure of his mental state. No... t- this was his brother... his silly and lazy brother... he wouldn't have murdered the human, his friend. Sans wasn't a killer... he wanted to protect the human from the beginning, didn't he? Contrary to what Papyrus wanted to believe, his bother was soaked in the red fluid that was now dribbling out of Frisk's neck.

            "S- Sans... I... I don't understand! She was my friend." His voiced was strained with grief and horror. Tears broke from Papyrus's eyes, his orange tears falling onto his friend's soul. Sans eyes were shadowed with darkness. "I'm so sorry..." As quick as lightning Sans raised a hand, causing Frisk to fly out of Papyrus's hands. Papyrus cried out for Sans to stop, but he ignore him. With the snap of his fingers, a sharp bone pierced Frisk's body, causing her soul to shatter.

            _reset... please._

            **Loading. . .**

            .

            .

            "FRISK, I FOUND THE BOOK! IT WAS IN THE CLOSET AND I GOT MY HEAD A BIT STUCK... BUT I FOUND... it... Frisk? Frisk?!"

            .

            .

            Heavy coughing erupted from her mouth as Frisk stirred awake. Her hand darted to her throat, however despite the ache there was no reminisce of the deep cut. She shivered as her memories flushed through her brain like frigid water. _Sans lied._ Adrenaline pumped through her veins as she kicked off the blankets that suffocated her. She ran her quivering hand on what she was on. _The couch?_ She reset but she was on the couch, not drinking coco or playing with Papyrus or even pinned to the wall. She didn't know exactly how this 'super power' worked but she didn't care, not right now anyways. She needed to leave before Sans came, before he could murder her for a second time. Her body trembled violently as she quietly got up from the couch, careful not to trip over the blankets (as she had a bad habit of doing). _The cane is on the table_ she remembered. Before she could head towards it she remembered something important. _The knife!_

            **...is locked in Sans lab. You don't need it. It will be missed, but we can always use something else.**

            _Where were you!_ Frisk hissed wordlessly, however Frisk couldn't deny that she was relieved to hear an echo in her head that wasn't her own. Frisk thought she had broken some sort of rule or requirement, causing the voice to abandon her forever.

            **How cute, you missed me, _partner_?**

            The voice spoke in a demeaning tone, reminding Frisk why she'd hated it so much. She shook her head, moving her hands around to locate the table. Finally her hand bumped into something smooth and hard. After moving her hand across the surface of the table, her hand tapped what she was looking for. Cane in hand, Frisk turned to the right, remembering that the door was right of the table. She hovered the cane over the surface of the floor, afraid that too many taps or swipes of her cane would alert Papyrus (who, to her surprise, hadn't caught her yet...). Finally her cane tapped something. She ran her hand along the wall, which turned out to be the door, and turned the cool metal knob. The strong gust of wind caught her off guard, but it was too late to go back. The wind was roaring and if she hadn't already alerted Papyrus, this blizzard would. She scurried forward, closing the door firmly behind her.

            **Right. Let's go.**

            _It's freezing!_

            **Stop being a baby, move! Turn right!**

            Frisk hugged her body tightly as she trudged through the knee deep snow. She wasn't fighting the wind, but it still blew snow uncomfortably up her back. The adrenaline that had gotten her out of the house, ran dry. She collapsed onto the snow after a few minutes of futile movement. She sobbed loudly, shivering as the storm burned her back with the cold wind.

            **What are you doing, GET UP!**

            " **I can't!** " Frisk screamed in anguish. The voice went silent."I want to _die_! Ever since I fell here everything has only wanted to kill me. I've made friends and even they want to kill me! I don't care about my promise anymore... I just..." Her voice went raw from screaming above the roar of the wind. Her next words were hoarse, like a dying lab rat.

            "...I just want to die." Minutes of roaring wind passed by Frisk as only a few seconds. On the verge of blacking out again, the voice finally replied.

            **Then give me your soul, and I promise you wont ever have to feel anything again-**

            "Yo, are you okay?"


	7. Melted glass, Memories, and Weaknesses

            Frisk took a shallow breath of the ice infused air that burned her throat. The wind continued, unmercifully lashing her back with icy gusts of wind. Her frozen numb legs, buried within the swelled snow, were as heavy as lead and would no longer move her forward, not that she cared in the slightest. Frisk clenched her teeth as clumps of loose snow buried her legs further. Even though the snow was knee high, it was trying to swallow her.

            Yo, are you ok?" A voice called out, however his words were broken by the storm and fell upon deaf ears.

            Frigid air whipped around Frisk's huddled body, overwhelming the little heat of her soul. She clutched her body as her chest began to twist into horrible knots, her body spasmed as a belt lash of wind struck her exposed back. Frisk cried in pain, pulling her flying shirt down. Frisk continued to sit on knees, despite the snow burning through her flesh, she just didn't have enough willpower to keep going. Even if she got up now and faced the fierce storm, she couldn't find a logical reason. She'd be lying to herself if she thought she could escape the Underground.

            Frisk's hand's let go of her shirt and slumped forward onto the ground, her hands clenched tightly into the fresh ice, her forehead lightly touched the ground (as if she was praying) while her body shook with grief. She missed John, the orphanage, the caretakers… but the feeling was one-sided. The caretakers would forget her, just as they always forgot the children they handed away like pamphlets. And John… wasn't the same as Frisk. He had other friends, lots of them, and could replace her with ease. As much as Frisk wanted to deny it, he would one day forget her when he grew up and met someone who would be able to fill his void. Someone who would mean much more to him than Frisk, someone he would know for longer, someone who wasn't _so stupid!_ Another sob racked her hollow, frail body.

            **That's right… you have nothing to go back to, no home, no family, no friends. Continuing is pointless. Give me your soul and I promise it will be painless.**

            "No more!" Frisk screamed. "just-" Her voice gave out as she took a deep breath of air that was too thick with snow. She coughed hoarsely, a disgusting sound that sounded like she was vomiting. Stinging hydroperoxide tears dripped from her eyes, along with mucus that streamed from her nose, and thick saliva that was left on her mouth and chin after coughing. It felt like she was drowning in snow, each breath only invited more ice into her lungs. Frisk's body spasmed violently on her knees, to the point where her entire body was numb and overtaken by tremors. Frisk let go of her balance and let the wind pin her to the ground, only moving her head to the side to gasp for air.

            "I… heard screaming..." a different, muffled voice broke her haze, and fear blazed through her eyes. This new voice was coming closer to her, although she couldn't hear his footsteps. The voice was shrill, similar to Papyrus's but different… or was it Papyrus and the wind was tricking her ears. _Who was speaking?_ The question didn't last long, as another coughing fit shattered her resolve. She curled into a fetus, her breathing loud and ragged with fear.

            "woah, dude you look terrible! ...You! You're from hotland… warm dusted right?" _No go away… I don't want to die again. No more pain, please! Make it stop, please!_ She pleaded as her mind succumbed to her dissolutions.

            "Du- dude! No no no no, get up!"

            **Then it is agreed**.

            .

            .

            .

            _Graceful dancer of the room_

            _Of walls that shimmer white gloom._

            _Determination servers as your guild,_

            _As the time does bide._

            _Time does not yield, bend, nor break_

            _Without consequences in its wake._

            _Graceful dancer of the room_

            _Of oily steps, laced with doom._

            _Clumsy steps lead to your fall_

            _And the oily steps seep into the wall._

            _With a growl, I slip closer to you_

            _And whisper encouragements to start your dance anew_

            _I stand back and watch_

            _Baffled by the sweet scent of butterscotch._

            _As you begin your 'second' chance,_

            _I see something change within your dance._

            _Something is missing, your dance has turned cold._

            _Something inside of you, was sold._

            _._

            _._

            _._

            A familiar wave washed over Frisk mid cough. Her tightened chest, frozen appendages, and the salty tears that damped her face, were all gone. What wasn't missing, was sensation of life. Her body was numb, her mind was numb, and her chest was still of the constant hum and thump of her heart. It was a weird feeling, with no evidence of even existing, she still felt alive. As strength began to flow back into her limp body, she realized that she was lying back on something that wasn't snow. Frisk gasped sharply and sat up, running her palm against the thick, stringy, ground. It was grass, Frisk had no doubt, but as her hand ran further she felt something smooth and icy. The cold touch took her by surprise and she recoiled her hand for a few moments. It was quiet, but the silence wasn't comforting at all. She shifted to her knees and explored the patch of grass. It was small and circular, with just enough area for her body to lay on. Her breath shook as an ominous feeling shook her. She rose to her feet and touched her chest, expected to touch the familiar valentines heart, but it was missing.

            Frisk moved her hands around her, reaching out for anything that would reassure her that she was not alone. Crisp air, while warmer than the storm she had experienced, was all that met her finger tips. "Hello?" she called out, however the only response was a single, fearful 'hello'. Her echo resonated for a few moments before dying out and leaving Frisk in eerie silence. Her hands shook as she took a step forward. As soon as her foot met the cool floor, she heard a sudden fit of laughter beneath her. She flinched, retreating onto her safe patch of grass as her hands quivvered. Once Frisk had managed to calm herself with a couple deep breaths and her own crazed (while calming) words, she realized that the laughter was friendly and welcoming, contrary to what she had immediately assumed. Summoning her courage, Frisk walked off her sanctuary circle to onto the weird hard floor.

            A child's laughter, swelling with happiness and love was almost foreign to her ears. Unfortunately it had an opposite effect on Frisk as her breathing quickened and her mind began to fog with anxiety. That was, until a familiar voice interrupted the laughter.

            " _It's not funny, Frisk! The nurse wouldn't let me see you and kept telling me you were okay, but that's what all grown ups say when people die!"_ The young boy's voice was strangled and upset, opposed to the giddy laughter whom Frisk startlingly recognized as her own. Frisk's breath caught in her throat before being let out with a laugh-like cough. She dropped instantly to her knees to hear the voice she'd longed to hear for a very long time.

            " _I'm sorry John I-"_ Her laughter continued unmercifully, accompanied by a frustrated growl.

            _This sounds so familiar._ Frisk's pondered, her mind slightly lethargic. In the lapse of silence, Frisk realized. This was memory from a year ago, when Frisk had consumed the buttercup flowers, expecting them to taste sweet. She was friends with John at the time but, what he had said to her after she had been released from the nurse...

            It made her feel _special_. That despite whatever happened, she'd know for certain that one person cared about her. Frisk smiled as a light feeling bubbled in her chest.

            Her memory's voices muffled considerably, but Frisk remembered what had followed her laughter. John had been upset with her afterward until he revealed why he held a grudge. John's father, who he considered his only parent since his mother was in prison, had fallen ill with a disease (Frisk couldn't remember the name). A disease that made his father bald. Everyone told John that he was going to be alright, that everything would go back to normal after they 'fixed' him. 'Everything was okay', or 'He's in safe hands', they'd tell him..

            " _They didn't fix him..."_ Frisk remembered John growling, his words laced with poison more potent than the Buttercups Frisk had ingested.

            " _...they broke him, and didn't know what to do with me… so they dumped me here. They apologized, but they didn't mean it. They didn't even know him!"_

            Frisk frowned ruefully. John rarely spoke about his parents, none of the orphans really did (including her), but Frisk could tell by his tone that John's dad was a great person. John was solemn the rest of the day, his grief even spread to her.

            " _One… Two… Three…"_ Frisk snapped from her dampened thoughts as her voice beneath her piped up again. _"Four… Five… … SixSevenEightNineTen ready-or-not here I come."_ It was her cheerful voice again and Frisk immediately recognized that she was playing hide and seek with John. Frisk smiled, she was always great at hide and seek despite her situation, as long as she played with John. He always gave his location away with his chortled laughter and giggles. He couldn't keep quiet to save his life.

            Frisk expected to hear an 'I found you', or 'got yah,' within a few minutes. To her surprise, Frisk could only hear the swish of her cane and the distant laughter of the other orphans.

            " _Michael…?"_ Frisk heard her voice call out after a long period of time. A few more seconds passed before she called out, _"I give up… where are you?"_

            Frisk frowned as she struggled to remember what had happened. Frisk almost always played with John, so why was she playing Hide-and-Seek with someone else? Frisk racked her brain, unable to come up with an answer.

            " _Michael..? Michael!"_ Her voice called out, but no one answered. A few minutes later and Frisk could hear sniffling underneath her. More time passed until a new, older voice joined in, _"Hey kid, are you alright?"_ _Edwardo!_ Frisk recognized his voice, along with the memory she had struggled to remember. Frisk smiled fondly. It was during second week within the orphanage, about year before she met John. No wonder she had trouble remembering, it was so long ago.

            " _I… can't find Michael."_ Her voice croaked pathetically.

            " _He's right over there, playing basketball."_ It went quiet for a moment before her sobbing grew louder, accompanied by hiccups.

            " _Hey, why are you still crying? He's right over there."_ He asked, his voice flat and unimpressed.

            " _W- we were playing h- hide and s- seek. He promised he w- wouldn't leave."_ Her younger self blubbered. Frisk's cheeks grew hotter as she cringed in embarrassment, she'd almost forgotten how much she used to cry before she'd met John. Crying was weakness, something Frisk had learned a few months in the orphanage. Kids would tease you and caretakers would treat you like a sensitive toddler, even if you weren't tough it was better to pretend. She was stronger when she had met John… at least she thought she was, but now that she thought about it, she'd been acting so weak. Just like back _then,_ she was no different _now_. Unpleasant memories began to swarm her head again. _Listen to the memory. Listen to the memory._ Frisk repeated, slowing her quickened breath to prevent herself from becoming swept away.

            " _I see… that asswh- er jerk."_ A pause ensued but luckily Frisk was able to push the bad memories down, and smile again as she continued to listen.

            " _Look, stop crying. I'll play with you instead."_

            " _Really!"_ Her voice cried out joyfully.

            " _Yep... as long as you do one thing for me."_ Edwardo added.

            " _What?"_

            " _Don't cry so much. Trust me, not everyone is as nice as me."_ A few moments passed before Edwardo continued.

            " _See, you already look ten times stronger."_ Edwardo finished, his voice muffling as the memory drew to a inscrutable murmur. Frisk's chest glowed with warmth. While Edwardo was a bit tough on her, it was necessary. She was a bit of a crybaby before him. Would she have climbed Mt. Ebott without him to toughen her up every now and then? No, probably not. While John was always there to comfort her, he was too soft on her. _Was I ever too tough on him?_ Almost by cue, a new, recent memory piped up.

            _"Uh, thanks for your help but I need to go now."_ Frisk's teeth clenched as she cringed at the memory.

            _"Frisk. Please don't go, I- I don't want you to disappear."_

            " _I- I won't disappear. I promise, but… John. I want to go. I'm blind and I probably won't ever have this opportunity for an adventure again."_ _An adventure…_ Frisk scoffed. She got much more than she bargained for… and now… now she was dead, or at least she thought she was.

            _"Then you need to hurry. Here take this, m- maybe it might help… It's a bandage, for if you get hurt. Now go, it might be past ten-thirty!"_ Frisk frowned as the light feeling in her chest, morphed into crushing homesickness. She had so much more than what she'd concluded, friends who cared about her, a safe 'home', a future; she threw all that away for an adventure.

            " _Please come back Frisk… I don't want to lose you too. I don't think I can handle it again."_ Frisk froze as this small murmur met her ear. It was soft and quiet, she hardly heard John speak at all. That wasn't a memory.

            " _John? John! Where are you!"_ Frisk cried, jumping to her feet .

            But no one came.

            It wasn't a memory, though, she was sure of it… right? Frisk called out a few more times, before giving up. Frisk's hands shook, not with fear, but adrenaline. She wanted, no, needed to go home _._ Her friend still needed her, and if not, Frisk still owed it to him to keep trying. She didn't want the only person who really cared about her, have his memory poisoned with more grief, he didn't deserve that. She she gave up now, she'd be nothing but a selfish coward.

            Frisk took a deep breath, but before she could continue the horror she'd faced and her fears came bouncing back in a wave of choking fear. She didn't want to die anymore, the pain was unbearable. How would she die next? Hypothermia, suffocation, Papyrus, Asgore, Sans? She began to shake with dread as she imagined Sans gutting her alive or slicing her neck open. When Sans had slit her throat, she couldn't breath or scream in agony. Only gasp for air that wasn't there. They _betrayed_ her. Toriel, Papyrus, Sans, they _all_ betrayed her.

            " _In this world, it's kill or be killed."_ The floor beneath her giggled with familiar insanity. And for once Frisk realized that the demonic flower, despite its crazed rambling, was right.

            At least here she was safe, with her memories to keep her company. She was alone here, with no one to betray or kill her. But, how long would her memories last before she grew tired of hearing them? She was convinced she was dead, but she never expected death to be like this. She expected to stop feeling fear, loneliness, and regret and to stop existing all together. Like a permanent slumber. This isn't what she wanted, but neither was living.

            Frisk's breath shook with hesitation, but before she could change her mind she took a deep breath and shouted at the top of her lungs.

            "The deal's off, I want my soul back!" Frisk waited for a sign of recognition, a belittling voice to taunt her, but nothing came. Her voice echoed around the strange room, before falling into silence that rang loudly in her ears. The weird floor beneath her, which chattered with hushed memories, also fell strangely mute.

            She wasn't sure what she expected to happen, and while she was partially relieved that the voice didn't answer her reluctant call, the sudden silence made her panic. She quickly lowered herself and touched the smooth glass-like floor. Her head ran with memories in hopes to start up any sort of sound. Nothing. Frisk's body began to shiver as she stood back up, unsure of what she'd done.

            "U- uh v- voice?" Frisk called out, realizing that she had no name for the voice that possessed her thoughts. Frisk's breathing quickened as each minute of silence passed. She hugged her arms slightly, rubbing them up and down slowly in a futile effort to calm her nerves. She'd never been this alone, even when she wasn't around anyone she'd still hear the birds chirping, cars running on the other side of the orphanage fence, or at least children laughing and talking in the distance. The total silence made her feel stalked, like some silent creature was creeping up to ambush her. Maybe she was wrong, as she wasn't entirely alone. She couldn't be sure, but entertaining the thought only made her panic. Frisk turned around to retreat to her comforting patch of grass, only to find it missing. Frisk dropped to her knees once again, trailing her hands in large arcs _I didn't wander that far… the grass should be right here… unless I got turned around.._.

            After a few minutes of crawling, she felt the surface tremble slightly. It reminded her of the older boys that would race through the second story hall. The hallway floor would always shake and bend under their heavy feet and frighten Frisk, who couldn't help but worry that the floor break underneath her.

            "Hello?" She called out fearfully, terrified but also anxious to discover if that the vibrations she felt were incoming footsteps.

            Nothing answered her call, but another echo. She continued her search for what seemed like forever, it was difficult to keep track of time in the silence. Her panic had dulled as she sighed, resigning her hunt to sit and think. However as Frisk lifted her palms from the floor, she felt something stick to both of her hands like glue. After wiping the weird substance off her right hand, she ran her fingers over her left palm, which was still covered in goo. While it felt like melting slime on her palm, her fingers felt solid glass, smooth and indifferent to the floor beneath her. Frisk's face contorted in utter confusion, she'd never felt anything like it before _._ As she ran her fingers over and over her palm, in an effort to understand the weird fluid, she realized that the surface was becoming rougher and looser, like rough gravel. Soon enough, the goo felt more like loose sand, trickling off her palm. "What… is this?" She whispered, both worried and curious. She played with the goo for awhile before pushing herself up and resuming her search.

            The floor was solid before, but now it felt more and more like she was stepping in thick glassy mud, that was heavy and difficult to walk in. She stopped, crouched, and dipped her hand into the floor, feeling as her hand sunk slowly into the weird goo before reaching solid ground. She cupped her palm as she brought her hand back up. She tilted her hand, so that the goo would pour from her right hand into to her left hand. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't figure out what the goo was. It didn't even smell like anything.

            Without any other options, she brought the goo closer to her face and licked a bit into her mouth. Her lips puckered and she instinctively tried to cover her mouth with her hand, only to smear her face with goo. She growled angrily, scraping the goo off her face. It was sour and bitter at first, like lemons, but as a minute or two passed it evolved into a salty flavor that made her face twist further in disgust. It tasted different from table salt, it was stronger, like ocean water or tears. It was disgusting. Even after spitting out the goo, the taste lingered on her tongue. The flavor changed again, but this time it had a faint sweetness, similar to an apple's. Before she could savor the change in flavor, it turned dull and tasteless.

            Frisk stood up, her head beginning to ache as she tried to make sense of her surrounding. What used to be a talking, smooth glass floor, was now silent and muddy but still glassy and smooth in texture. It also tasted like lemons, salt, and dull watered-down sugar.

            She repeated all that she knew over and over in her mind like pieces to a jigsaw puzzle, but it still made no sense. It frustrated her that she couldn't come up with an answer because she couldn't see.

            Frisk yelped as a sharp, burning pain invaded her left eye. After quickly wiping one of her hands clean with her shirt, she rubbed her eye realizing that her eye's asaltant was a few grains of rough sand. After brushing her eye aggressively, she covered it defensively. She wiped her other hand, slick with goo, on her clothes that were quickly becoming dirty and heavy with goo. She moved her hand across her face, realizing that the leftover goo on her face was turning into sand and getting into her eyes. She shook her head like a dog fresh out of the water, before brushing her face with her hand to remove the sand. Unfortunately her face was still grimy, with a thin sheet of sand sticking to her face uncomfortably. Not only that, but her clothes and legs were covered in goo and sand that itched her skin. She let out a loud growl, trying to move out of the sticky goop. Luckily, she wasn't sinking, with the goo only meeting her ankles, so at least she wasn't in any danger of suddenly being sucked into the ground. At least she hoped she wasn't.

            After what felt like ten minutes of trekking through what was starting to feel like sandy glue, Frisk's scrunched face was quickly becoming sore. She didn't want any sand to burn her eyes, but she had a hard time keeping her eyes closed. She was used to having them open and only closing them for a short period of time when she felt self-conscious. With her face scrunched she could keep them closed, but her face was starting to ache. Not only that but her legs were tired and her head was throbbing with dull pain. She was trying to get back to solid ground, but just like her attempt to find her patch of grass, it seemed like a pointless search. She settled to her knees again, grumbling as her legs sunk into the goo, which was no longer soft and glassy, but rough and sticky.

            She wasn't tired or hungry, which made sense if she was dead, but that didn't explain why she could still feel pain. An idea clicked in her head. Frisk took a deep breath of air before holding her breath. Minutes passed, but she didn't feel her chest burning, or the need to take another breath. It felt like she was still breathing, which sent an uncomfortable chill up her spine. She exhaled her breath, returning to her comforting, rhythmic breathing.

            She rested her legs for a bit, before she got up and continued to wander aimlessly. She didn't know what else to do but walk and pray that she found something she understood, or else she feared that her headache might worsen.

            She didn't get too far when suddenly she became conscious of her tightening wrists. She stopped walking to touch her wrist, which was absent of the string she felt tugging and tightening. She rubbed her thumb into the muscle in an attempt to massage away the feeling. Sometimes her wrist would become sore if she used her cane a lot, but the tightening felt a bit different. She rubbed her thumb in small circles in between the bones that connected to her hand, switching hands every now and then. While the massage felt nice, it didn't remove the tightened feeling. She kept walking, deciding to massage while she walked.

            Something jerked her wrists backwards, sending a shock from her wrists to her elbows as it pulled her violently back. Frisk cried out in shock as she fell backwards, her wrists tightening painfully as that something tried to pull her through the goo she fell in.

            "Let go of me!" Even though she was the stuck in the goo, the thing continued to pull her backwards.

            " _Please_ , stop!" She cried, suddenly worried that it would tear her arms out if it kept trying to pull her.

            "Sto-" The goo's grip on her snapped, and the ground beneath her disappeared as she was launched into the air like a slingshot. She didn't even have enough time to scream before her body crashed into a pile of damp, gritty sand. Frisk moaned, her body throbbing with pain. She didn't move at first, but eventually she shifted to her knees, her body twitching from the shocks running up and down her arms, legs, and spine.

            "W- who... are you?" She managed to moan, however no one answered her and the tugging she'd felt on her wrists were gone. She touched her quivering wrist but felt nothing, nor heard any footsteps, and when she managed to raise her hand to touch something, someone, anything at all, she felt nothing.

            She couldn't understand.

            Frisk waited a few moments in silence, before rolling back onto the damp sand. She sobbed as pain shot up her spine the moment she laid on the ground. She cried freely, not even trying to hold back her despair.

            "I wanna… go home... " she wailed, her voice cracking as her throat swelled up. _Home._ What was that to her? She had no real home, and she would hardly call her orphanage a home, yet she craved it so much. She missed something that she never had. Frisk laughed ruefully, her twisted laughter morphing into a whimper as more pain shot up her spine. Even Frisk couldn't understand herself.

            "I'm never getting out of here am I?" she asked the silence with a broad smile.

            The goo that used to cover the ground had thickened into damp sand, a mystery Frisk didn't even try to comprehend. What bothered her was the agonizing sand that stung and burned her eyes. She didn't move to brush her eyes, her hands hurt just as much as the rest of her body. All she could do was cry and sob, in hopes for the lingering sand to wash away.

            As time passed, her tears dried and her chest rose and fell softly in a peaceful manner. The sleeping child, with her brunette hair frazzled, riddled with knots, and clotted with sand, didn't even notice as the 'sand' of her timeline swallowed her.

            Meanwhile the storm continued unmercifully, indifferent to the hollow body whom had already succumbed to the waves of stinging ice. Warm arms wrapped around the limp child, her frostbitten body was picked up from the blanket of snow that had fallen upon her. Sheets of snow melted off the girl when the monster cradled her in his arms, however the furious storm seemed intent on covering her back up with fresh snowflakes. The monster pulled her closer to his vest, turning her head away from the storm, before rushing towards a building whose fluorescent sign was turned off early due to the building snow. While he had trouble seeing, he managed to find the building by sheer instinct.

            He opened the door and entered the restaurant. Icy wind easily pushed passed the door and rushed into the once warm restaurant. The door, which he'd lost grip with and slammed into the wall, was difficult to close with the child in his arms.

            Monster Kid, who had been pacing on the floor, looked up with an expression the monster had missed while trying to shove the door closed with his elbow. Monster Kid ran up and headbutted the door, and together they managed to overpower the wind hold the door open. Once the door clicked, the monster leaned on the door and slumped with a sigh, his flamed head was dimmed a dark red and ache painfully, this was why he didn't serve water.

            Monster Kid, who'd still been shoving the door, stopped and looked up. His face, the monster now noticed, was mixed with horror and worry.

            "A- are you alright Grillby? Your head's red and... hissing…" Monster Kid squirmed slightly, unsure of what to do to help.

            "...I'm fine." The storm was so loud that he'd hadn't heard how his head hissed and crackled angrily. Even now, the storm's whistling and roaring could still be heard through the maroon walls. The lashes of wind thumbed at a constant pace, as the wind tried to push its way inside. He questioned the stability of his wall for a moment, he'd never seen this bad of a storm and neither had his building, before he looked down at the child; her face still buried into his chest, while her arm had fallen out of his cradle and hung out limply. He placed a gloved hand on the child's temple and moved the child's head slightly to check on her state. The slick layer of melted snow on her face, reflected the dark red flames that flickered from his head, her face was a pale yellow with only her nose and cheeks glowing a light shade of pink and a smudge of brown that turned out be dirt on her face. Her clothes were stiff and muddy, and torn in several places. She looked homeless, and probably was since he'd never seen her around Snowdin before. If she wasn't from Snowdin, then she probably 'lived' in the capital. Plenty of homeless flocked there, but who would abandon a little monster? While life was rough in the Underground, the kids were always put first, or at least in Snowdin. Grillby felt his soul beat quicker in his chest as he stared at the battered child; the sign of a crumbling race. "She sleeping, right? She's too young to have fallen…" Grillby turned his attention to Monster Kid, who's eyes were glazed with fear contrary to his wide smile. Grillby gazed at him blankly for a moment, before mentally damning himself. A kid was dying in his arms and all he could do was brood helplessly, now was not the time for this.

            Grillby nodded and stepped towards an empty booth that rested near the door. He laid her down softly, pushing her frigid legs (which were falling off the side) back onto the cushion. He sighed as her weight left his hands; she was heavy and her water soaked clothes had started to leak through his own and sting his 'skin.'

            He had no beds in his restaurant, only booths that he'd also used as a bed until Monster Kid had woken him up by banging on the door.

            Grillby untied the apron around his waist, but hummed quietly in disapproval, noticing the liquor and condiment stains decorating the thin black cloth. Throwing the apron aside onto the floor, he turned toward the bar counter and took a step before hesitating. Quickly he turned back towards the table to snatch the left-over beer off the table, then twisted on his heel to run towards the bar counter. Abandoning the bottle on the counter, he moved around the counter and crouched below his station to open his hidden cabinet, where he kept his extra aprons, ketchup, and a crude combat knife (In case of an escalated bar fight, but he avoided ever using it.) Opening the door, he pulled out two of the clean aprons he had and ran back to the motionless child. He wrapped the aprons around her, worriedly looking over her as she made no move, not even a shiver. Unfortunately Grillby couldn't increase his body temperature to warm her soul, in fear that he'd lose control and set her on fire, and his restaurant for that matter.

            Instead Grillby patted the couch, opposite of the unconscious kid, motioning Monster Kid to sit.

            "O- oh, okay." He stammered, worry still etched in his eyes. Grillby tapped his glasses with one finger and pointing to the child with his other hand. Monster Kid stared at him for a while before speaking hesitantly, "She… needs glasses?" Grillby sighed to himself and shook his head. This time he pointed into Monster Kid's eyes, before pointing to the child. Monster Kid's expression lit up as he clicked together what Grillby was trying to say.

            "Oh, _oh!_ Yeah, I'll watch her." Grillby nodded, before rushing to off to the door next to the bar, which lead into the kitchen.

            Once Grillby had left, the room become void of his hissing and popping head, leaving only the storm that howled and shook the walls errily. The storm didn't seem this bad to Monster Kid when he left the Waterfall, so maybe it was his fear that amplified the roaring and made him more conscious of the wind that battered him when he was outside and next to Frisk's immobile body.

            Monster Kid turn to Frisk, who he could hardly see behind the table. Getting up from the seat, he walked over to her, noticing that she was again missing the devil-horned hat. Maybe it fell in the snow when she fell, though Monster Kid wasn't sure if he saw it on her when he walked up. Her face was pale which greatly contrasted from the yellowish brown skin she had when he'd first seen her that afternoon.

            She was warm-dusted, which made the cold more dangerous than it was to a cold-dusted monster like Monster Kid. However she wasn't turning to dust like he feared, but she wasn't showing any sign of life either. She wasn't even breathing, though it could be that she was a monster who didn't need to breath. Monster Kid walked closer to her body, a shiver crawling up his spine as he recalled a passage from the Monster's History Book his school forced him to read. Usually he blew it off, or absentmindedly skimmed the reading, but he remembered catching his eye on a word his parent's always refused to define. 'You're too young.' or 'When you're older sweetscales.' They were always codling him with these words, he was so tired of it! So he read the page with the word on it, not realizing how much it would frighten him

            _Unfortunately, monsters are not experienced with illness. However, when monsters are about to expire of age, they lie down, immobile. We call this state "Fallen Down." A person who has Fallen Down will soon perish._

            He could hardly sleep that night, afraid that he wouldn't wake up. His soul was always weaker than his parents, he was sure of this even if his parents didn't tell him so. There was no way Monster Kid could confess his fears to his parents, they'd only punish him and make him feel worse. Over time he slowly bounced back as he often forgot about his fate, whether accidental or forced repression.

            Now it was shoved right back into his face like a lemon on his wounds. This was proof wasn't it, that kids could fall down if their soul was weak? Monster Kid laughed quietly as his vision began to blur, and his eyes began to warm.

            "Y- yo, you asleep?...Cuz' you g- gotta get up for you and me…" Three second passed with no response, then twelve, then forty. Monster Kid's body quivered with panic as he begun to see a reflection of himself. Pitifully smothered in blankets, immobile with a face frozen in pain, and completely helpless. Undyne would never find him useful with a soul like his own, with the possibility to die at any moment. _Undyne would think i'm weak and useless… and worthless… I could never be strong like her..._

            Monster Kid's glassy eyes broke and droplets of clear tears streamed down his cheeks as he trembled and sobbed quietly. His head was hung in shame when a sudden sharp gasp and coughing broke out in front of him. Monster Kid looked up, his eyes as wide as they could. Frisk was sitting up, a hand clutching her throat as she took strangled breaths. Monster Kid could only stare at her in stunned silence as she caught her breath.

            "Ha… Haha… your still sobbing? Your such a crybaby…" Frisk laughed to herself before opening her eyes. They were a cloudy sliver-brown, that seemed to gaze straight passed Monster Kid. Her eye's narrowed as her gaze shifted around, again reminding Monster Kid of Doggo. Her eye's softened again, her next words wobbly and laced with resign and fear, "Asriel… I d- didn't know Buttercups caused blindness…" She buried her head into her arm to wipe the bead of mucus trailing from her nose onto her already dirtied sleeve, "can… can you come closer?" One of her hands stretch out to touch something. Monster Kid was thrown off and confused by what she said, but felt obligated to comply due to the pain in her voice.

            Monster Kid moved closer to her hovering hand, which quickly lowered to touch his tear-damp cheek. Her eyes narrowed again as she lifted her other idle hand to touch his nose. A sudden shove caught Monster Kid off balance, he cried out as he fell backward and slammed against the floor.

            "O- ow…" he groaned, "What was that for?" He growled, lifting his head to meet her glare. His glare faltered, however, under the intensity of her own.

            " _Who the hell are you?_ " She spat. Monster Kid couldn't tell if she was shivering from the cold, or from the same hatred that shot daggers from her eyes.

            "U- u- uh... u- um…" He stammered, unable to form words as her eyes bore straight through him. His body began to tremble again, yet he hadn't the slightest idea why. Monster Kid knew that even with Frisk's deadly glare, that she was weakened and ill, yet his soul beat rapidly inside his chest and his mind screamed to flee.

            **_SLAM_**

            Monster kid nearly fainted from shock until he realized that the door behind him had opened.

            "Who's there?" Frisk barked. Grillby ran over to Monster Kid, and paused looking between both him and Frisk before helping Monster Kid up. Monster Kid backed up closely behind Grillby defensively, still a bit frightened of Frisk's sudden hostility. Grillby looked down at him again and tilted his head, which suddenly made Monster Kid feel self-conscious. _Only babies hide behind adults!_

            Monster Kid condemned himself, realizing that he was no better than a toddler who would cling to their mother's leg. He was about to step away from Grillby to regain what ever dignity he had left, when Grillby stepped closer to the child.

            Monster Kid was exposed again, though this time he was glad that Frisk's hostility had shifted away from him. Monster Kid watched anxiously as Grillby grew closer, and noticed as Frisk's eye flicked around, as if she was searching for an elusive fly.

            "Who are you! Get away from me!" She shrieked as she pushed herself back against the wall, the aprons already kicked onto the floor. Her hands quickly touched the table and the couch, as her body trembled like a cornered animal. Monster Kid noticed that Grillby had stopped to make weird hand signs, however Frisk didn't seem to notice. Her head was tilted towards the table, her hands searched for something franticly. One of her hands knocked over a bottle of mustard, which she quickly took into her grasp and held over her head. Monster Kid's eyes widened and he quickly backed up and ducked behind one of the tables. Grillby, however, didn't move but his hands remained still again.

            "... _calm down…..rest."_ He managed to hum after a long pause.

            Frisk whose eyes were darting place to place, locked on to Grillby as she drew the mustard bottle further behind her, as it to throw it at him. Grillby flinched, his hands raised defensively to block the bottle, but she didn't throw it.

            "Where am I? Tell me now or I'll smash this bottle on your head and stab shards into your eyes!" She growled, her words easily intimidating Monster Kid, who peered over the seat of the chair. Monster Kid stared at Grillby incredulously as he didn't respond to Frisk's interrogation, he knew Grillby was quiet and didn't talk often but this was kinda important!

            "Tell me, _NOW!"_ Her hand reared back even further but before she could send the bottle flying, Monster Kid cried out, "S- stop! You're in Grillby's, a- a restaurant in Snowdin! You're not in danger, I promise!"He pleaded, his body quivering as he hid further behind the chair, wishing he had hands to move it for better cover.

            Her arm lowered slightly as she gazed at them in silence for a moment, her face revealed confusion before it hardened again into a scowl.

            "There are _two_ of you, what are your names?" She commanded, it still dumbfounded Monster Kid how her voice was so stoic now, versus when he'd first met her. Frisk seemed so shy and soft spoken that it was hard to believe that she was the same person who'd just threatened to gorge Grillby's eyes out. Monster Kid wasn't even sure if Grillby even had eyes.

            "I'm Monster Kid… remember? A- and Grillby is the restaurant owner." Grillby nodded, however that didn't seem to remove her glare or the threat of the bottle.

            "What am I doing here?" She asked, no longer shouting though her words were dripping with suspicion.

            "I… found you in the blizzard. I couldn't carry you 'cause uh… you know…" The girl raised an eyebrow that made Monster Kid feel like he was shrinking. "I- I uh… asked... er, got help... Grillby to help." His cheeks blushed as he stupidly tripped over his words, it was hard not to with her roaming eyes suddenly staring at him with such a belittling expression. Monster Kid sighed in relief as her eyes moved on.

            "...you're lying." She declared, in contrary however, she lowered her bottle onto the table while still holding on tightly. Her eyes closed as she rubbed them with her other hand aggressively. As the threat of being hit with a bottle diminished, Grillby crouched down to pick up the aprons Frisk had casted onto the floor, and brushed it with his hand.

            "N- No, you were covered in snow. You're still wet aren't you?" Frisk had stopped rubbing her eyes to reveal silvery irises glazed with familiar resign. After releasing the bottle, she let out a long sigh as her body relaxed and slumped against the wall. Monster Kid's eyes widened and he quickly left his hiding spot to check if she was alright. She didn't move, but he'd notice as he stood beside Grillby, who had already taken away the bottle and was re-covering her with the two aprons, how violently she was shivering and how sick and pale she appeared.

            "I'm freezing…" She murmured, Monster Kid watched as she closed her eyes and fell back asleep, not realizing that Grillby had left until Monster Kid felt a hand on his shoulder.

            Monster Kid flinched and looked up to Grillby who stared down at him and held out a crooked piece of paper for him to take.

            "Uh…" Grillby paused before realizing his mistake, making another weird hand signal, with his right fist making small clockwise circles over his chest. Without explaining what he was doing, Grillby walked over to the chair Monster Kid had been hiding behind and pulled it out to place the note on top. Monster Kid walked over, blown away for a moment by how awesome his handwriting was, it was even better than his teachers!

            **_Monster Kid, could you please watch over the child while I am in the kitchen. I will not be gone for long, as the soup I made for her is done but needs to be warmed up. I do not believe that she is dangerous, but if she looks like she might attack you, shout and I will come running. Is that alright?_**

            As soon as Monster Kid reached the end of the note, he looked up to Grillby's expecting gazed and nodded, "Yeah, sure…" Her paused wondering whether or not to ask. Grillby didn't move and tilted his head quizzically as he'd noticed Monster Kid's confusion. Monster Kid looked up at him, deciding it couldn't hurt to ask.

            "Why didn't you just tell me."

            Grillby paused for a moment before he fished the pen from his pocket and picked up the paper again. He flipped the paper onto the back and wrote again for only a few seconds before placing it back onto the chair. Monster Kid leaned over and read while Grillby left him, heading for the kitchen to warm up Frisk's soup.

            **_I cannot talk normally like monsters such as yourself._**

**Author's Note:**

> I would like to give credit to Zrllosyn's tumblr comic and drawings for giving me the idea of a Blind!Frisk AU. Check out her comics, it's good stuff trust me.


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